Retirees and workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), yesterday kicked against plans by the management to eject them from their quarters, despite a court order restraining it from doing so.
They said the management had succeeded in ejecting over 200 from the quarters in the past, with a promise to demolish and build a new structure but abused the process by selling the properties.
The workers, who took turns to speak to newsmen in Kano on the current attempt to eject them from the remaining five blocks of 24, however, called on the Federal Government, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, as well as Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to wade in by investigating the continuous sales of their quarters.
A retiree, Kabiru Muhammad Kuta, who served the corporation for 35-years, complained bitterly about the unholy and unjust act by the management.
He said: “The Federal Government sometimes around 2005, under former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, directed the management to monetize the quarters to the staff but they (the management) are taking that privilege to eject us from our quarters and selling it to outsiders. “That was the same time they monetize NITEL and other organizationand just now they monetize that of NNPC.”
“The management did not monetize the quarter but went to the court and as we speak the matter is in the Industrial Court still dragging.
“We were having over 300 quarters and staffs. So they used that privilege to come and deceive staff because we have vast land. That when they demolish, they will build another one.
”They demolished the first quarter and couldn’t build another. They demolished the second and gave a token amount to staffs which varies. Some were given N50,000, N60,000, N80,000 while some were given N100,000 but at the end of the day they deducted the money they gave them from their salaries”.
