Posted by Oluyinka Akintunde, Abuja on
Senior workers of Nicon Insurance Corporation have petitioned the Vice President and Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over the bid for the acquisition of 51 per cent of government's shares in the corporation by the present management.
Senior workers of Nicon Insurance Corporation have petitioned the Vice President and Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over the bid for the acquisition of 51 per cent of government's shares in the corporation by the present management.
The petition was signed by the President-General and General Secretary of Senior Staff Association of Utilities, Statutory Corporations and Government Compnaies, Mrs. Nkiru Obiajulu and Mr. Chubs Nwagbara respectively, on behalf of the workers.
The workers accused NICON's management of unsound practices and mismanagement of the organisation, particularly an alleged depletion of the workers' pensions fund.
The petition, which was made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, was also copied to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu; the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, and the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mrs. Irene Chigbue.
The BPE had on July 29, pre-qualified seven core prospective investors for the acquisition of 51 per cent government stake in Nicon Insurance Corporation Plc.
The seven firms included: Garston-Jones Investment Limited, Industrial and General Insurance Company Limited, First Investment Consult Limited, Zenith General Insurance Company Limited, CCNL Investors, Assurance Acquisition Consortium and Transafrica Insurance Consortium.
Garston-Jones Investment Limited is a Management Buy-Out firm with provisional shareholding by NICON staff, NICON's staff pension scheme and African Reinsurance Corporation.
The workers' petition read, 'The management team in Nicon should actually be standing on the dock for mismanagement of the organisation instead of having the honour of being shortlisted among those for consideration as core investors under the guise of the Garston Jones Investment Corporation."
The PUNCH, Monday, August 15, 2005