Some workers of the Ondo State Ministry of Energy and Water Resources have accused the Commissioner, Engr. Johnson Alabi, of high-handedness, and using his position as well as his closeness with the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to intimidate staff members he sees as enemies, among other allegations.
A cross-section of staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, for fear of victimisation by the commissioner, said the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources was being run like a private estate.
According to the sources, workers in the ministry live in perpetual fear because they are allegedly treated like slaves by the commissioner.
“The way and manner the commissioner is running the Ministry and treating people, is appalling.
Speaking in the same vein, another staff member of the ministry chided Alabi, saying gradually, the commissioner had succeeded in pocketing the ministry through connivance and intimidation.
“The Ministry has not had it so bad like this since its establishment,” said one of the staff.
Consequently, workers of the Ondo State Electricity Board(OSEB) took up the gauntlet on Monday, protested alleged interference in the administration of the board, intimidation and maladministration by the commissioner.
The workers, under the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies(SSASGOC), and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services, staged a peaceful protest at the OSEB premises in Alagbaka, Akure, demanding justice, due process, improved welfare and end to Alabi’s intimidation.
The workers, who displayed placards with inscriptions such as “We Want Justice” and “Say No to Political Gladiators,” appealed to Governor Aiyedatiwa to intervene in the crisis.
They also kicked against an alleged plan by the commissioner to redeploy the General Manager of OSEB, Mr Olabanji Akindolani, and replace him with his loyalist, Mr Williams Abe.
The workers argued that such a move could undermine the stability of the board.
They also accused the commissioner of deliberate plan not to employ temporary workers who had served at OSEB for about 10 years,
The SSASGOC State General Chairman, Comrade Adebayo Oluwasefunmi, urged the Governor to investigate the allegations surrounding the proposed leadership change and ensure that appointments at OSEB were based on competence, professionalism and due process.
Similarly, the OSEB Labour Leader, Comrade Isaac Olowolafe, said the protest was not politically motivated but was centred on justice, fairness, due process and industrial harmony.
Olowolafe called for social dialogue and mutual respect in resolving the dispute, while appealing to the state government to protect the office of the General Manager from what the workers described as undue interference and intimidation.
In his reaction, Alabi accused the two unions of the board of sabotage following their inability to prevail on him to stop the proposed redeployment of the general manager.
The embattled commissioner said that the Governor Aiyedatiwa had approved the redeployment of Akindolani over alleged misconduct, accusing the general manager of divulging classified information.
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