Picketing: Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC ‘Suspends’ Senior Employee Accused Of Corruption, Holds Meeting With Workers’ Union Friday

March 12, 2024

Sources told SaharaReporters that the meeting had been fixed for Friday, March 15, 2024.

The board and management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) have agreed that a senior staff member accused of corruption in the company should stay away from office till after a meeting with the leaders of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).



Sources told SaharaReporters that the meeting had been fixed for Friday, March 15, 2024.



SaharaReporters earlier reported that the NUEE on Tuesday resumed its picketing of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) headquarters in Marina, Lagos State.



It earlier suspended the action after the management pleaded for more times to conclude its investigation.



The union had picketed the office over an alleged attempt to cover up corruption in the company.



The union had accused the management of the power distribution company of collaborating with the board members to perpetrate corruption, which it said would eventually ruin the establishment.



But the union in a memo obtained by SaharaReporters during the weekend announced the suspension of the action, noting that the board of directors/Eko Management responded to the letter the union sent to them.



However, SaharaReporters gathered that the union in the early hours of Tuesday resumed the picketing of the EKEDC office because the board/management of the company refused to maintain the status quo by keeping all those alleged to be involved in the ongoing corruption scandal away from the office pending the conclusion of the investigation as earlier agreed by both parties.



A source told SaharaReporters that the protesting workers insisted that the company’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Mrs. Wola Joseph, should be asked to stay away from the office to prevent the investigation from being compromised.



Meanwhile, after Tuesday's mass action, a source told SaharaReporters that the board and the management of the company had agreed to have a tripartite meeting between the Board of Directors, EKO Management and NUEE on Friday.



“Consequently, members of NUEE have been asked to allow normal business activities to resume from Wednesday till after the meeting,” the source said.



Meanwhile, a message sent to NUEE members by the union leadership partly read: "I want to salute all of us for our doggedness in this struggle.



"The board/EKO management had finally agreed to allow the main alleged culprit to stay away from the office environment till the meeting slated for this Friday 15th March 2024 between the NUEE, Board of Directors and EKO Management.



"Please let's demobilize and allow normal business activities to resume. Victoria Ascerta."



SaharaReporters reported in January that Eko Electricity Distribution Plc had been accused of covering up for top-level officers linked to ghost employee fraud.



The staff members linked to the infractions were accused of aiding ghost workers in the company and earning millions of Naira from the dubious dealings.



Sources who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity revealed that the exact amount of money the management staff members fleeced from the company could not be ascertained. However, they said it would be between N150 million and N300 million.



Petitions written by Ayiwe Peter, an AG Principal Manager Community Relations/CSR addressed to the Chairman/Board members of the electricity company, dated February 13, 2023, and December 18, 2023, respectively, called on the board to investigate the “mismanagement of the company by the present management”.