Cases of corruption practices has been revealed in one of Nigeria’s most important electricity distribution companies, the Eko Electricity Distribution Plc, EKEDP, also known as Eko DISCO.
EKEDP has been said to be facing issues of inadequacies and
the absence of optimal service provision for some time, with customers often
complaining about the company’s inefficiencies and struggles.
The company’s struggles have been said to be partly caused by a significant level of corruption going on in the organization, which involves top management staff members. The staff members linked to the infractions have been accused of aiding ghost workers in the company and earning millions of Naira from the dubious dealings.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that the
exact amount of money the management staff members fleeced the company could
not be ascertained. However, they said it would be between N150 million and
N300 million with a hefty chunk of it allegedly linked to one Wola Joseph, the EKEDP’s
Chief Legal Officer, CLO according to the petition.
Sources said that some time ago, Wola was allegedly linked to the
employment of a family friend who presented a fake certificate.
According to these sources, she was the company’s Chief HR at
the time and despite the knowledge of the board of the company, the matter was
swept under the carpet. The board members of the company include Dere Otubu,
who is the Chairman.
Also, some members of the board have been said to be shielding
Wola and preventing any form of corruption investigation from getting to her,
despite complaints from company workers and evidence linking her to some
atrocities.
“The leadership of the EKEDC (EKEDP) has been unfair to the
staff and whistleblowers who have reported Wola’s many atrocities. The MD, Dr
Tinuade Sanda has kept quiet all along as Wola tramples on people as she wants
in the company because she knows she’s covered,” one of the sources revealed.
Other members of the board of the company who have been said
to have seemingly forgotten their oversight role include Charles Momoh, Tunji
Olowolafe, Simon Ani and Babor Egeregor.
“All these people who have been appointed to help steer the
company against strong winds, especially from corruption have allegedly turned
a blind eye to Wola,” a source said.
Wola, who had been part of previous investigations into the
activities of other staff members which led to their dismissal, is now linked
to illegalities.
In a case brought to the fore in 2023, she was said to have
requested an increment of salaries for some members of staff, including the
request of up to N1.6 million salary for a seconded staff member identified as
Similoluwa Dada, a manager at the company, one of the sources said.
Meanwhile, the requested salary was beyond what the Principal
Managers in EKEDP earned. One of the sources said, “This breach of company
practice and policy led to an investigation into her activities after an
anonymous whistleblower raised an alarm and a cankerworm of corrupt practices
was revealed afterwards.
“It was discovered from the investigations that Wola, right
from the commencement of the secondment process in 2017 had unilaterally, and
without consultation of the board determined the promotion, recruitment, and
salaries of seconded staff.
“Her failure to follow due process caught the investigators
unaware and led to further checks on her previous activities as she had gone
against the company’s policies.”
It was gathered that the investigators also discovered that
two of the staff members pencilled down for salary increment by Wola were ghost
workers.
It was said that they never worked for the company nor the law
firm of George Etomi and Partners. An investigation revealed that she had never
met any of the ghost workers in their three years of supposed employment yet
approved their promotions, salaries and bonuses amounting to nearly N62
million.
Some staff members of the company who had resigned or been sacked
by the company have been said to still on the payroll with their salaries and
bonuses approved by Wola.
A report into the matter reads; “Sometime in October 2023,
Wola presented a request for the increment in salaries of certain seconded
staff including a Simileoluwa Dada which was contrary to the Company’s pay
grade as she was recommending a N1.6 million monthly salary for a Manager an
amount beyond even a Principal Manager pay grade in Eko.
“Noting the inconsistency and the breach in company policy,
which was also fueled by an anonymous protest from a whistle-blower within the
Company, a further review was conducted on the request and the following
discoveries were made:
“The CLO had all through the commencement of the secondment
arrangement in 2017 unilaterally determined promotions, salaries, recruitments,
and levels of all the seconded staff without following due process, contrary to
the Company’s policy and the Secondment Agreement.
“We detected that two of the seconded staff including the staff
proposed for salary increment in October 2023 are ghost workers, never worked
for the company nor the law firm of George Etomi & Partners, GEP, nor even
existed at all within the workspace of both entities.
“The CLO confirmed she never met these staff yet she over the
three-year period had authorized the payment of their salaries every month of
the year, granted them promotions, and approved the payment of thirteenth-month
salaries to them which have all amounted to fraud on the company in the sum of N61,478,750
since 2020 when the ghost workers came into existence.
“Further inquiries also showed that some staff were also left
on the payroll of the company despite their exit and resignation and the CLO
(Chief Legal Officer) signed off on their monthly salary payment, and
thirteenth month, exposing the company to more financial loss.”
It added, “In line with relevant company policy. I issued a
Demand for Explanation to: CLO for the above discoveries: The Chief Audit and
Compliance Officer for her negligence of duty for not having audited the Legal
Department in many years, therefore, not verifying staff salaries and not
flagging the fraud: and,
“The Chief Human Resources Officer for not escalating the
breach of policy, his non-involvement in the implementation of the secondment
agreement within the company.”
Meanwhile, the situation has triggered doubts and worries for
the company’s workers regarding their future with the organisation, especially
in the face of its recent struggles.
“Nobody knows how many ghost workers are in EKEDC (EKEDP)
receiving salaries like the staff working hard. The management has taken their
eyes away and Wola has continued to siphon money while maintaining her brutish
style of leadership.
“The CEO Sanda has kept quiet. The Chief Audit and Compliance
Officer, Sheri Adegbenro has looked away since Wola is her friend. It’s up to
the board to save EKEDC, if they have not been compromised too,” a company
insider said.
“It is difficult to say everything we know because the ones
we’ve said are not being acted upon, and we hope the Nigerian government,
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices
and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Bureau of Public
Enterprise, BPE, can look into EKEDP before things go terrible.”
The National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, has also
joined the call for the investigation of Wola and others.
The NUEE in a statement said that the federal government owns
a 40 percent public interest ownership of the organization, which means its
members are critical stakeholders in the affairs of the company.
“This clearly requires the attention of President Bola Tinubu
and his minister in charge of power,” the NUEE said.
The workers union made their call in a letter to the Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer Eko Electricity Distribution Company, dated
January 10, 2024, with reference number NUEE/NS/2024/005.
The letter signed by Acting General Secretary, Dominic
Igwebike, was titled: ‘Alleged Ghost Workers in Eko Electricity Distribution
Company, EKEDCP, Call for Investigation’
Insisting on a thorough and unbiased investigation, the union
reminded the management of the company that the federal government owns a 40
percent public interest ownership in the organization, adding that it makes its
members critical stakeholders in the affairs of the company.
It said, “NUEE has been monitoring with keen interest, the
issue of the alleged involvement of some top Management Officers with Ghost
Workers and frantic attempts to suppress it contrary to Eko Electricity
Distribution Company’s, EKEDC, Conditions of Service and ethics in the
Electricity Supply Industry.
“It is appalling, to say the least, that an ugly issue of this
nature is being mentioned in the Company, and more appalling is that futile
attempts are being made to hide the truth: with its perpetrators behind one
finger, thereby leading to monthly financial losses to the Company and the
detriment of the General workforce.
“It is instructive to remind you that the Federal Government
still controls a public interest element of 40 percent of Eko Electricity
Distribution Company, EKEDC, thus making us critical Stakeholders in the
day-to-day running and well-being of the Company.”
It added, “In a view to sustain the Company and maintain our moral
integrity, we demand without delay, a thorough Investigation into the scandal
of Ghost Workers in EKEDC and Management’s attempt to cover it and the
perpetrators of this dastardly act punished in line with the provisions of the
Company’s Conditions of Service.”
“The Management/Board of EKEDC is advised not to play the
ostrich on this issue, as any attempt to sweep it under the carpet will be
vehemently resisted,” the union warned.
With the allegations of fraud and a cover-up by those
involved, the company called for an immediate investigation by relevant
anti-graft agencies into the activities of the EKEDC, especially as its
services have been badly affected and its sustenance is also under threat.
As of the time of this report, Wola Joseph has returned to
work. It is believed that the Chairman and other board members of Eko Disco,
EKEDP, are doing everything to sweep the matter under the carpet.
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