Wrongful Sack: Man denied N69m entitlement 21 years after court cleared him

Mr. Fabian Enebechi, a former staff of the defunct National Electric Power Authority, NEPA was employed on June 7, 1982 as an accounts clerk and worked at its Awka office until July, 1986 when he was dismissed on the allegation of embezzlement of funds.

Surprised that such allegation was hung on his neck, Enebechi dragged NEPA to court in suit No AA/3/87 and after years of litigation, he won the case. Not satisfied with the ruling of the High Court presided by Justice Ernest Egbuna, NEPA appealed the judgment and while the matter was dragging,  NEPA was later transformed to Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN in 2004.

Judgment was eventually  delivered in the said suit on February 10, 2000, wherein the Judge, declared the purported dismissal of Enebechi null and void and of no effect. Consequently, the Judge declared that Enebechi was still a staff of NEPA and entitled to his monthly salary, from July 1, 1986 until his employment was properly determined.

However, Enebechi is yet to benefit from the judgment. Believing that he is still part of NEPA, Enebechi leaves his house everyday to stay in a mechanic workshop close to the Awka office of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, which inherited the assets and liabilities of NEPA. He sits there daily lamenting his inability to fend for his family, in spite of the fact that he did not commit any offence in his place of work before the unfortunate dismissal.

After the judgment was delivered in his favour, Enebechi wrote to the then Managing Director of NEPA through his counsel, C. Udemezue Ikejiakor in a letter dated June 23, 2000 requesting that he be reinstated in compliance with the judgment of the court. However, the request was declined by NEPA in its’ reply letter dated October 17, 2000, on the ground that they were appealing the judgment of the court, which was declaratory in nature. Subsequently, he made repeated demands to be reinstated, but all to no avail.

One of such letters, which was dated April 28, 2003 was replied by NEPA on July 15, 2003 in which it stated that it was appealing the judgment.  Enebechi said that NEPA apparently in a bid to further frustrate him from enjoying the fruit of his judgment and being reinstated, first filed a motion, at the High Court, Awka Division, seeking to stay the execution of the judgment of the court. However, in its ruling of March 21, 2005,  the court dismissed the application with cost, following which NEPA  filed a notice and grounds of Appeal on March 13, 2000 and subsequently abandoned the suit, until Enebechi filed a Motion No: CAIE/53M/2010 on April 7, 2010, seeking to dismiss the appeal. The Court of Appeal, in an unanimous decision on July 20, 2018, dismissed the Appeal and upheld the judgment of Justice Egbuna delivered on February 10, 2000, which reinstated him.

After the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Enebechi again wrote the defendants,    in a letter dated  March 21, 2019, demanding the payment of N69,853,306.00 which, he said, was his entitlements in salary and allowances and other benefits as a staff of NEPA. In fact, the last salary Enebechi received as a staff of NEPA was for the month of June, 1986 and when he went to the bank for his salary, the bank informed him that his salary had been stopped following an order by NEPA.

N69.8m unpaid entitlement

After his salary was stopped, Enebechi searched for documents that could help him determine his entitlements from NEPA, but all efforts were in futility. However, according to him, through private investigations and based on inquiries from his then colleagues still in service,    he was able to arrive at the amount as the barest minimum amount due to him as his entitlements from NEPA.   

He said the computations and calculations were based on the Harmonized Public Service Salary Structure, HAPSS which was effective from January 1, 1999, Harmonized Public Service Salary Structure (HAPSS) for the Federal Public Service, which was effective from May 1, 2000, Harmonized Public Service Salary Structure (HAPSS), which was effective from October 1, 2003, Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), which was effective from January 1, 2007 and Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), which was a working document applicable from the year 2011 issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission in the Presidency, Abuja.

He told the Encounter: “I believe that, if proper assessment is conducted, my entitlements would amount to more than N 69,853,306.00. The estimated total amount, due to me in salary from July, 1986 till 2013 is the sum of N 31,653,306.00, while other allowances and benefits, including monetization, pension advance and severance, is N38,200,000.00, amounting to the total sum N69,853,306.00). A detailed computation and the basis of the computation, of the entitlements is contained in a document headed, Fabian Enebechi Salary from 1986-2013, a copy of which is before the court.

“My dismissal was wrongly based on the unsubstantiated acts of misconduct, the dismissal letter bore disreputable and disparaging statements, which prejudiced my chances of securing another meaningful job.

“I have suffered untold hardship due to my inability to secure a meaningful job and I have been struggling to cater for my family to make ends meet. I have a wife and five children and taking care of them has been very difficult. What pains me most is that I was not involved in any fraud; neither did I commit any offence.

Asked if he would be willing to return to his work if given the opportunity, Enebechi said he is willing and desirous to resume his job as a staff of  NEPA (now EEDC) and ‘work till when he would be due for retirement. 

Demands

To further pursue his rights, Enebechi has already approached the National Industrial Court and the matter is still pending. Essentially, he is praying the court to give an order mandating the defendants to accord him all such promotions and entitlements due to him or which would have been due or accrued to him, but for the wrongful dismissal, in assessing his entitlements and calculate his entitlements based on the Federal Government’s specification and guidelines, for the payment of Federal Government parastatals, which was applicable before the balkanization of NEPA from July 1, 1986 to the year 2013, and ‘taking into account, all partitions and entitlements, that would have been due to him, but for the wrongful dismissal. He is also asking for general damages of N20 million. (Adopted from Vanguard)