A MOTION FOR CALL TO ORDER THE ACTIVITIES OF UNION EXECUTIVES AND PROPER HANDLING OF UNION MATTERS IN LINE WITH MAJORITY EXPECTATION AT THE SSASCGOC UNION BRANCH AT OIL AND GAS FREE ZONES AUTHORITY.

A petition of STAFF OF OIL AND GAS FREE ZONES AUTHORITY (OGFZA)

DATED 07 OCTOBER 2020

Addressed to SENIOR STAFF ASSOCIATION OF STATUTORY CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OWNED COMPANIES (SSASCGOC)

WE THE UNDERSIGNED WRITE TO PETITION CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS OF THE UNION BRANCH AT OIL AND GAS FREE ZONES AUTHORITY:

We have observed with enormous dissatisfaction, wholesome disappointment and regret the process for the proposed UNION branch election in the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), which is fraught with anomalies ranging from lack of transparency, conflicts of interest, disenfranchisement, high handedness and selective implementation of union rules to aggrandize power without recourse to majority approval.

Let it be noted categorically that the said Executives were appointed on an interim basis, inaugurated on the 19th of September, 2019 by the Executives of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) with an explicitly stated tenure of six (6) months to serve. This term effectively elapsed on the 18th of March, 2020.

There had been no extension agreed to by the staff of OGFZA and granted by the SSASCGOC, thus the OGFZA Union branch effectively ceased to have an Executive body on the 19th of March, 2020.

The following are noted breaches of the former serving executive body;

• The Executives who were given the responsibility to manage the affairs of the Union have always conducted the affairs of the union in secrecy, without recourse to the staff of which they represent. All requests by staff for information from the Union Executives are rebuffed.
• The Executives till date have not provided a copy of the adopted Union Constitution to staff after months of constant requests by the staff population, tantamount to lack of transparency, abuse of due process and breach of servant leader tenet.
• No electoral committee was inaugurated and given the mandate to conduct the elections.
• The said Executives kept and circulated nomination forms to whomever they chose; appointing delegates on skewed basis, thus getting a body of improper representation of the staff, there were no set criteria for the nomination of delegates. A total of 40 delegates were appointed by them across four (4) OGFZA Offices as listed
• The said Executives have gone further to appoint themselves as automatic delegates also. Besides being Executives they are also vying for elective offices, thereat playing all functions of the electoral body and the contestants in an election. This amounts to an abysmal abuse of office, an obvious conflict of interest of gross proportion and electoral fraud.
• An exclusion clause was hyped to deprive a certain class of staff from participating in the electoral process. The said Executives denied all staff who joined the organization by employment on March 1st, 2019 the right to vote and be voted for, breaching the rights of financial members as stated in section 4. Membership rights and responsibilities.

• Onne Office – 30
• Lagos Office – 4
• Abuja Office – 5
• Warri Office - 1

In light of the above, we the undersigned hereby move the following MOTIONS:

• That the method for election be the direct election as in Item 4.i(a), since the delegates system is not amenable to our situation, this therefore will allow the rights of every financial member to be upheld.
• That the executive committee initiate a congress and to officially rest itself and an interim body be set up with proper representatives to form an electoral committee, constituting nominees from all departments to conduct the elections.
• Every staff of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority have access to the Union Constitution either in soft or hard copies.
• All necessary measures are put in place to ensure a free and fair elections process that is inclusive of all staff to ensure equity in order to achieve the objectives of our Union.
• We pray yourselves to do all within your capacity, to guide and support this process, to guarantee total transparency and accountability. This will ensure collective peace and tranquility of this baby union.

AGREED UPON BY THE FOLLOWING STAFF OF THE OIL AND GAS FREE ZONES AUTHORITY:

Please sign this petition and let your voice be heard in defense of your right as a financial member of the OGFZA UNION.