CAC premises remain shut as staff union wants immediate implementation of demands

The premises of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Abuja remained shut yesterday as Chairman of the staff union, Mr. Ibrahim Kirfi, insisted that members were on strike to curtail abuse of government extant policy, corruption and insensitivity to welfare of staff by its management.

Kirfi said at a news conference in Abuja that the essence of the news conference was to enable the general public to know the reason for the union’s agitation.“All the subsisting agreements between our union and the management should be implemented immediately as a condition for calling off the industrial action.

“The staff have demonstrated willingness, total commitment and resilience in carrying out the commission’s mandate by supporting the Federation Government initiative on ease of doing business.

“We hereby call on the Acting President to save the nation by taking a decisive action on this lingering crisis to avert the commission’s eminent collapse and save business in Nigeria,” Kirfi said.

He explained that the strike is hinged on huge salary disparity between executive and non-executive staff, noting that the union signed three different agreements, which the management has deliberately refused to implement.

He also alleged that the management had been involved in tax evasion through fraudulent training of staff.But CAC spokesperson, Godfrey Ike, described the union’s allegations on corrupt practices as false, adding: “The commission has met the demand, as the minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, has approved the payment for the implementation of the MOU signed by all the parties.

“Instead of opening the gate of the office to allow staff to continue with work, they have blocked the gate and came up with another demand that management should be sacked.” Ike insisted that all procurement issues in the Commission followed due process, which could be verified.