NIRSAL Alleged Salary Short-change,  Contract Staff Send SOS To Presidency

.… Whistleblowers Allegedly Victimised, Witch-hunted

By Our Correspondent

Over 400 contract staff of Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) have accused the management of the organisation to have short-changed them in the payment of their salaries with over 50% while in service.

They therefore appealed to the Presidency to wade into the issue promptly in the interest of justice and fairness.

In a document made available to AFRICA PRIME NEWS,  the complainants alleged that they were only paid 41% of their said salaries during the period they worked as outsourced staff to NIRSAL by their previous employers and even when they were directly under company employment as contract staff.
The document further alleged that the variance representing 59% of their salaries have been suppresed over time, adding that they have been demoralised by the continuous injustice meted out on them despite all efforts to seek redress.

It was gathered that the  Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, in April 2023 deployed Auditors to conduct spot assessment on these salary discrepancies, and made available to the CBN,  recommendations in their report.
Subsequent upon this, the complainants wrote thus- ” We appeal to your office ( the CBN Governor ) as the Chairman of the Board of NIRSAL Plc,  to investigate this matter to establish the true position of our remunerations”.
Meanwhile, the disengaged staff wondered the rational behind their sack, just as they disclosed that the action would amount to defrauding the country, while the nation continues to borrow.
“Why should the company sack over 400 contract staff who coordinated ABP loan disbursements to thousands of farmers across the country and have first hand information about the beneficiaries and their addresses?”
“How will those loans be recovered? Are they going to waste, while Nigeria keeps borrowing from the World Bank?
“Why has no one addressed issues of contract staff’s salary discrepancies between 2017 and 2024 under Aliyu Abdulhameed and Abbas Masanawa era as MDs, despite all efforts made?
“Rather, the Board of NIRSAL Plc ordered the retrenchment of over 400 contract staff to save cost. When Ms. Daphne Dafione who doubles as CBN Consultant and Board Member of NIRSAL Plc was recently alleged to be earning N35m monthly salary.”
Sources revealed that whistleblowers who exposed the mismanagement of funds were subjected to maltreatment, witch-hunting, and victimization, to the extent that some were even sacked and forced to go into hiding due to threats on their lives.
Those targeted, according to the sources
include Olalekan Olusanya, a former Head of Internal Audit, and Olusola Omole, a former Head of the Technical Coordinating Unit, Noel Dilli, a field officer and Coordinator of Nasarawa State, Kesman Samson, Murtala Mohamud who were coordinators of Adamawa and Gombe state.

The Head of Corporate Communications, Jude Nnadozie, when contacted, explained that: ” the contract of the disengaged contract staff came to an end last year, and  NIRSAL could not continue with their services due to lack of resources,” adding that such action was not limited to the organisation alone.
On the issue of the contract staff being short-changed, the Head of Corporate Communications declined comment.