Mr Dave Uduanu, MD/CEO of Access Pensions Limited.
A member of staff of Access Pensions Limited, Mr. Eguaoba Ohi has cried out for justice over what he called ‘unlawful’ termination of his employment and the company’s refusal to pay his gratuities and severance packages of about N25 million naira.
In a letter made available to press men in Lagos, Mr. Eguaoba knocked Access Pensions Limited over the inhuman treatments melted out on him and over one hundred (100) members of staff who are financially disadvantaged to fight for their rights to reclaim what is legitimately and duly belongs to them.
Sources familiar with the allege underhand operational ethnics and rules perversion of Access Pensions Limited informed Trojan News Media Correspondent in Lagos that Mr. Ohi outcry is simply emblematic of a deeper crises threatening to engulfed the company in matters of months over the ‘unlawful’ sacking of over a hundred members of staff last month.
Mr. Ohi’s outcry, apart from inhuman and ‘unlawful’ termination of his employment and illtreatment by the company, he has alleged that the company vowed to ‘hack him down’ for refusal to hand over the car he purchased with the loan he took from the company.
“My name is Eguaoba Ohi. I worked with First guarantee Pensions Limited for 15 years before it was acquired by the Access Corporation in 2022 to form the present Access Pensions Limited”.
“By virtue of this acquisition, all the staff of First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL) became Access Pensions Limited staff. A severance package was to be paid to all the old staff of FGPL to indicate the end of their contract but Access corporation decided to declare some staff members redundant and retain others to kickstart the new Access Pensions Limited”.
“Those declared redundant were paid full severance package which was a combination of accrued gratuity plus other payments as stated in the company’s (First guarantee Pensions) handbook”.
“Those retained were only paid gratuity because their years of services continued”.
“I was not consulted in this whole arrangement if I would like to go with FGPL or move on to the new entity. We were given a new letter of employment with Access Pensions Limited”.
“After six months we realized that our length of service had been cancelled when we did the first company. It was then we started asking questions about our severance package. To my dismay, the MD/CEC Mr Dave Uduanu told us (FGPL staff) in an exclusive meeting that because we were paid our accrued gratuities then, the company cannot pay us severance package”.
“He further said it was our FGPL management that took the decision. I felt cheated and used”. How come they select pay some employees complete severance and others gratuity alone. This is a double standard”.
“I went to our Union Assbifli Secretariat to complain about the injustice since all our unit Union executives were in the list of disengagement of 2022. The compromised union could not help the situation instead they indulged in transmitting every move we make to the management of Access Pensions Limited”.
“To further victimize and frustrate us from seeking justice, I and Six (6) others were transferred from Lagos to the far north. In my case I was transfered to Gombe state”.
“I then applied for my outstanding annual leave but HR declined my request and ordered that I must report to the new location with immediate effect. I did obey and moved to Gombe. However, the regional manager incharge of Gombe and Plateau States redeployed me to Jos, Plateau where he lacked manpower at that time”.
“The company only paid 400k for the journey without the payment of relocation allowance. When I arrived in Jos, I stayed in a hotel for almost a month and thereafter paid for an accommodation, bought a bed and other properties for my partial comfort”. All with my money.
“In December I reapplied for my annual leave to be with my wife who had just put to bed and it was approved”.
“While on leave, I received a termination of employment that my services are no longer needed with a schedule of benefit payment of N2 million which was again deducted from the outstanding car loan of N5 million I collected earlier”.
“It was stated that I should refund the balance of N3 million in three months of my disengagement from service”. I got confused because Access Pensions Limited is still owning me close to N25m naira if my service was discontinued in December 2022″.
“My pain now is that Access Pensions Limited had defrauded me by refusing to pay me my complete severance package as at 2022, using the same parameters as used for my colleagues in 2022.
“That Access Pensions Limited had tricked me into a fraudulent contract of employment with no condition of service is dehumanizing to me”.
“By this singular act, Access Pensions Limited trampled on my right and now, they’re threatening my life because they feel I don’t have the financial strength to fight back”.
“The worst is they have threatened to ambush me and forcefully take the vehicle from me if I don’t pay up the loan or return the car before the end of March 2024, when they are the ones actually owning me”.
“I feel unjustly treated or is it a crime to be selected to be part of the staff that will kickstart and grow the new entity (Access Pensions Limited)?”
“Now, everyone from Access Pensions Limited are calling and threatening me on phone because of N3 million naira which should simply be deducted from my stolen terminal benefit”.
“The last call I received from one Mrs. Lalade Ayepola was a treat to my life and peace. She told me emphatically that they (Access Pensions Limited) will hunt me down anywhere in the street and that they have their eyes everywhere. What that statement means I don’t know”.
“However, I want the world to know and to help me plead with slave master and tyrannical arm twisting tactics of the MD/CEO, Mr. Dave Uduanu and his Almighty Access Pension Limited and cronies” to pay me my outstanding severance benefits and stop the treat to my peace”.
“I will go to court if they disagree with the above terms”, Eguaoba ohi told said.
A source at Access Pensions Limited Headquarters in Lagos who is miffed at the embarrassing news of termination of over a hundred members of staff employments was heard angonizing, “saying the company may be having a secret employment policy book written in arcane jargon meant to bury genuine claims of members of staff and to thwart moves to claim their benefits and gratuities.
“why did they retain over a hundred of these members of staff and later terminated their employments without paying up their severance package”?
“Why did they withhold his benefits but wanted him to return the car he used the loan to buy?
Why did they want him to return the car without a concrete agreement reached on how to pay up his outstanding severance”, the which craves anonymity intoned.
Responding to our Correspondent, Access Pensions Limited Head of Marketing and Communications, Mrs Mojisola Coker simply said, “We acknowledge receipt of your email requesting our position in relation to the purported “unlawfully termination of the employment of one Mr Eguaoba Ohi”, a former employee of our organisation”.
“Be assured we are treating this seriously and we will come back to you with the facts as soon as possible”.
“In the event that we are constrained for one reason or the other to revert before your scheduled press time, we would appreciate another notice hereon”.
“We thank you for reaching out to us and laud your commitment to balanced reporting. Best regards”.
