Ime Akpan
The Nigeria High Commission in London has terminated the appointment of over 50 Staff of the Nigerian High Commission in London were dismissed and asked to accept a letter dated 22nd of November, 2018.
In a letter signed by the first secretary/head of chancery, Ms. Helen Nzeako on behalf of the Nigerian High Commission, UK and dated November 22, 2018, the commission said the termination the need to “restructure its operations for efficiency and productivity taking into consideration the budgetary constraints as well as headquarters’ directive to reduce staff strength and comply with the approved ceilings in our missions abroad.”
In the letter, the affected staff were however asked to re-apply for the same job on contract basis if they so wished.
“If you are interested in continuing to serve the Mission beyond 21 December, 2018, you may wish to apply for a contract appointment. This application should be submitted to the under-signed on or before December 5, 2018.”
It was gathered that the staff had been working without pay and that their protest demanding payment of salary arrears led to the termination of appointment.
The High Commission however stated that the appointments were terminated “notionally with effect from January 1, 2018.”
However, a source alleged that the exercise was a ploy to disengage some of the old staff to pave the way for employment of cronies.
“We want the world to see how we are been ill-treated just because we asked for our salaries. This is so unfair and an injustice to democratic rule,” said one of the staff who preferred anonymity.
