GIFT ROBERTS
No fewer than 21 ex-security employees of ExxonMobil have petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), asking him to direct the oil giant to pay their exit entitlements according to a Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 20, 2018.
The appeal was made in a statement signed by Emmanuel Usoro and Tabiti Kehinde on behalf of the ex-workers at the weekend.
They said that the oil firm was initially reluctant to comply with the decision of the apex court until they staged a peaceful protest.
Following that protest, they said the firm started paying them only to suddenly stopped the payment.
According to them, 21 of them have not been paid.
Noting that after contacting the company’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos that ExxonMobil informed them that every one of them would be paid but that they should be patient, the group said:
“The question is how long shall we be patient? We are tired of being patient since 2018 when most of us worked for ExxonMobil all our lives and have no other means of survival. No pension and no gratuity.
“We served as Supernumerary Police Officers with ExxonMobil Police Unit in various capacities during our youthful ages. Our primary assignment was to protect life and properties in the Loss Prevention and Control (Security) department of the Multinational Oil Company, which we did with all youthful vigour, zeal and enthusiasm that the onus of the service demanded and placed on us, not minding the risk, threat, even death of some of our colleagues.
“Yet, we were not deterred by the hatred, scorn and underdog treatment to which we were subjected while performing our duties over the years,” the group lamented.
Meanwhile, some of the ex-workers claimed that they were disengaged from the service against their wish and without formal notification benefits, which made them seek court intervention.