NEPC disregards reps directive on promotion
The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has failed to comply with a directive of the House of Representatives to stay action on the staff promotion exercise it conducted in 2015 following allegations of favouritism, Daily Trust gathered.
Our correspondent had last year exclusively reported the promotion scandal that rocked the council following allegations by aggrieved staff that the Executive Director, Olusegun Awolowo was biased.
The promotion of 80 members of the council’s staff was allegedly dogged by controversies ranging from sectionalism and religious bias as all the 13 promoted staff in the directorate cadre are said to be of the same religion.
The House had after examining a petition from 27 of the aggrieved staff in May last year directed the council to reflect federal character principle in the promotion exercise; promote all officers due for promotion and ensure that no officer was punished or victimized for their role in writing the petition.
The House also directed Awolowo to “revert to status quo ante bellum pending the outcome of ongoing investigations on promotion and disciplinary actions embarked upon by the agency,” and that the minister of commerce and industry should immediately call the ED to order, failure of which the House would invoke its relevant powers to deal with the issue.
Late last year, Rep Ahmed Babba Kaita (APC, Katsina) raised the matter on the floor of the House, saying the council was yet to comply with the House directive. The matter was then referred to the committee on legislative compliance to ascertain the true situation of things.
But a letter written by the chairman of the legislative compliance committee, Rep Olasupo Abiodun Adeola (APC, Oyo) dated February 13 and addressed to some principal officers of the House, showed that the agency failed to respect the House directive.
The letter indicated that the committee had written several letters to the executive director on the matter but that he did not reply any, a development that angered lawmakers.
The aggrieved staff also in two separate letters dated August 12 and November 4, 2016 brought to the attention of the minister of industry, trade and investment complaints against their continued persecution as well as the council’s failure to adhere to the House directive.