General
Court Orders BEDC, NELM to Pay Ex-PHCN Staff N21.8m
The Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd (NELM) and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) have been directed to pay the sum of N21.8 million to a former employee of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr Olufemi Bamidele.
The Presiding Judge of the Benin Division of the National Industrial Court, Justice Adunola Adewemimo, in his ruling, said the two organisations must pay the amount within 30 days.
Justice Adewemino said awarded N1.794 million to the former staff of the collapsed national electricity firm as cost of his medical bills in special damages, while the N20 million was awarded as general damages against the defendants.
According to the court, NELM took over the management and settlement of the PHCN, while BEDC took over the distribution of electricity in Ondo State that both sprouted out from the defunct PHCN and have a stake in the matter.
The claimant, Mr Bamidele, was employed as a Contract Staff by the defunct PHCN in 2008 and his appointment was formalised. He averred that on September 10, 2013, in the course of duty, he was injured and the incident left him unconscious and was treated for burns and other complications.
He averred further that some of his colleagues and officers in his cadre, who were not retained after the privatisation of PHCN, were paid off and got an average of N2 million as a result, but received nothing from the management of the company.
He pleaded further that he was never officially laid off at any point in time, but the company refused to absorb him back into its employment after the accident.
He claimed that he was subjected to the worst form of neglect and injustice by the defendants, ranging from non-payment of his medical bills to tactical lay off with his requisite entitlements left unpaid and no compensation for his permanent incapacitation and psychological trauma.
In response, the first defendant, NELM pleaded that the claimant went outside his official duties on the day of the incident as he was not authorised to rectify faults and he neither sought approval nor notify the office before embarking on the job that resulted in his injury.
The agency further added that the claimant did not take into consideration his safety as required of staff on field assignments and failed to take adequate measures that all their legitimate employees were paid off during the privatisation exercise that claimant was a contract staff and his employment was never formalised and not entitled to any of the reliefs sought.
On its part, the second defendant, BEDC, asserted that it did not inherit the liabilities of the defunct PHCN, and added that proper parties were not before the court, and no reasonable cause of action was disclosed against it, emphasising that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
In response, the claimant submitted that a panel was set up after the accident to verify if he had his safety equipment on at the time of the incident, and a report was equally issued confirming same.
Delivering judgment after careful evaluation of the submissions of both counsels, the trial judge held that the argument of the first defendant that the claimant’s appointment was never confirmed and formalised as a legitimate staff of the company at the time of the incident cannot exonerate them and will not preclude the defendants’ liability.
“It is clear that by the nature of the relationship between the claimant and the company, a service relationship exists, the general requirement of law is where there exists a service relationship between the employer and the employee, the former is under a duty to take reasonable care of the safety well-being of the latter in all circumstances of the case, so as to forestall any harm to others or expose him (employee) to unnecessary risk.
“The contention of the defendants’ witnesses that the claimant was issued safety gears which he did not use was not substantiated by credible evidence. The claimant has on the balance of probabilities established before this court that the defendants owed him a duty of care that was not exercised after the injury he sustained,” the judge ruled.
However, the Justice Adewemimo held that claimant did not place anything before the court or adduce any credible evidence on his entitlement to the said sum of N2 million as he did not also call any evidence from his colleagues to prove that they were indeed paid the said amount.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Martin Amaewhule, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the plenary on Friday, Mr Amaewhule joined the ruling party from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with 15 other members of the state parliament.
This development comes some months after they had earlier declared their support for the APC in the wake of a crisis with the state governor, Mr Sim Fubura.
The lawmakers had an issue with Mr Fubura, which led to a state of emergency declared on the oil-rich state by President Bola Tinubu in March 2025.
This embargo was only lift in September 2025 after the duration of the six-month emergency rule in the state.
A few days ago, members of the Rivers Assembly passed a vote of confidence on President Tinubu, backing him to remain in office till 2031, when he would have spent eight years in office if re-elected in 2027.
Announcing their defection today, the lawmakers pinned their decision on the crisis rocking the PDP at the national level.
It is not certain if their political godfather, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will join them in APC.
Mr Wike, who governed Rivers State from 2015 to 2023, has been accused of instigating the crisis in the opposition PDP. He was expelled from the party last month at a national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that Nigeria risks massive brain drain in the oil and gas sector due to poor remuneration.
The president of PENGASSAN, Mr Festus Osifo, said at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union on Thursday in Abuja that the industry was facing challenges arising from Naira devaluation and inflation, noting that, oil and gas skills remained globally competitive.
Painting an example, he said, “A drilling engineer in Nigeria does the same job as one in the US or Abu Dhabi,” noting that the union must take steps to bridge the wage gap to prevent members from leaving the country for better opportunities abroad.
“If we don’t act, the brain drain seen in other sectors will be child’s play,” he said.
According to him, PENGASSAN has recorded significant gains through collective bargaining across oil and gas branches.
“We signed numerous agreements across government agencies, IOCs, service and marketing sectors,” he said.
He said the agreements brought relief to members facing rising costs of living, adding that, the association’s duty is to protect members’ jobs and enhance their pay.
Mr Osifo urged companies delaying salary reviews and those foot-dragging as a result of the prevailing economic realities, to do the needful.
He said the industry employed some of the nation’s best talents, making competitive pay critical to retaining skilled workers.
“This industry recruits the best. Companies must provide the best conditions,” he said.
On insecurity, Mr Osifo urged government to take decisive action against terrorism and kidnappings across the country.
“We are tired of condemnations. government must expose sponsors and protect citizens,” he said.
He urged government at all levels to prioritise tackling insecurity through better funding and equipment for security agencies.
Mr Osifo said PENGASSAN supported calls for state police to improve local security response, adding that decentralising policing will protect citizens better than rhetoric.
He also said economic indicators meant little, if food prices remained high and farmers could not return to farms due to insecurity.
“Nigerians want to see food on the table, not macroeconomic figures,” he said, urging the government to coordinate fiscal and monetary policies to ensure economic gains reach households.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s crisis-response bill seeking to establish a single, toll-free, three-digit emergency number for nationwide use passed for second reading in the Senate this week.
Sponsored by Mr Abdulaziz Musa Yar’adua, the proposed legislation aims to replace the country’s chaotic patchwork of emergency lines with a unified code—112—that citizens can dial for police, fire, medical, rescue and other life-threatening situations.
Lawmakers said the reform is urgently needed to address delays, miscommunication and avoidable deaths linked to Nigeria’s fragmented response system amid rising insecurity.
Leading debate, Mr Yar’adua said Nigeria has outgrown the “operational disorder” caused by multiple emergency numbers in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun and other states for ambulance services, police intervention, fire incidents, domestic violence, child abuse and other crises.
He said, “This bill seeks to provide for a nationwide toll-free emergency number that will aid the implementation of a national system of reporting emergencies.
“The presence of multiple emergency numbers in Nigeria has been identified as an impediment to getting accelerated emergency response.”
Mr Yar’adua noted that the reform would bring Nigeria in line with global best practices, citing the United States, United Kingdom and India, countries where a single emergency line has improved coordination, enhanced location tracking and strengthened first responders’ efficiency.
With an estimated 90 per cent of Nigerians owning mobile phones, he said the unified number would significantly widen public access to emergency services.
Under the bill, all calls and text messages would be routed to the nearest public safety answering point or control room.
He urged the Senate to fast-track the bill’s passage, stressing the need for close collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), relevant agencies and telecom operators to ensure nationwide coverage.
Senator Ali Ndume described the reform as “timely and very, very important,” warning that the absence of a reliable reporting channel has worsened Nigeria’s security vulnerabilities.
“One of the challenges we are having during this heightened insecurity is lack of proper or effective communication with the affected agencies,” Ndume said.
“If we do this, we are enhancing and contributing to solving the security challenges and other related criminalities we are facing,” he added.
Also speaking in support, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno said a centralised emergency number would remove barriers to citizen reporting and strengthen public involvement in security management.
He said, “Our security community is always calling on the general public to report what they see.
“There is a need for government to create an avenue where the public can report what they see without any hindrance. The bill would give strength and muscular expression to national calls for vigilance.”
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Communications for further legislative work and is expected to be returned for final consideration within four weeks.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn