Fatimat Haliru —
The Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Railway Senior Citizens, ANRSC, Festus Okorie in a self-signed statement yesterday in Lagos implored two in-house unions in the sector against scheming retirees out of the allocation of Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, quarters.
The unions are Senior Staff Association (SSA) and the Nigeria Union of Railway (NUR).
Mr Okorie alleged that SSA and NUR worked with the management of NRC to sell the staff quarters to themselves.
According to him, the plan is by shutting retirees out of the ongoing discussion to arrive at recommendations that would be made to the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo.
He said that any member of the NUR, SSA, Railway staff and management making representation to the minister or ministerial committee on monetisation, to recover the staff quarters for allocation to themselves and serving staff, was selfish.
He said that the leadership of the unions was aware that many retired and serving staff were displaced from the Ebute Meta junction and Ikeja quarters.
”This is to allow for construction work in Railway, with a promise to relocate them to new replacement quarters at Tejuosho and Agege.
”The new quarters are funded under the China Civil Engineering Construction Company contract and by the Lagos State Government,” he explained.
The ANRSC spokesperson further explained that the unions were also aware that the replacement had for years been completed and Railway management was yet to allot the quarters to displaced staff as promised.
”The SSA and NUR are aware that the Railway management has failed to allocate the quarters, partly because they do not want to breach the government policy on monetisation.
”ANRSC members who are beneficiaries of the monetisation policy in Railway demand that the houses already built for displaced members should be given to them,” he said.
Mr Okorie urged the unions to shelve plans to sell the houses to themselves and their principal to pay retirees pittance with the proceeds as settlement.
”We have been on this struggle for what belongs to us for over 10 years and won our case before some of the current staff joined the corporation to serve or become union executives,” he said.
Mr Okorie added that any recommendation of the committee that does not include the Federal Government’s extant rules on monetisation of staff quarters and the interest of ANRSC members would not be accepted.
In his reaction, the President of SSA, Marcel Okeke, told the News Agency of Nigeria that many of the claims by the association were a fallacy.
According to him, the unions have the interest of ANRSC members at heart as far as the monetisation process is concerned.
Mr Okeke explained that in 2011, the NUR and SSA were at the National Industrial Court with the management of NRC, but later opted to settle the housing issue out of court.
”When the matter began, the NUR and SSA are the unions representing the welfare of workers in the Railway Corporation. We are also serving and representing the interests and welfare of the retirees,” he said.
The union leader said that a 10-man committee by the minister was to find a workable solution to the housing problem.
He advised the affected staff and retirees to present letters of allocation for the committee to know the number of persons entitled to the quarters.
