Ex-TPMS Staff Urge FG to Release Funds for Nine-Year Unpaid Salaries from Cargo Tracking Revenue

 

Lagos, Nov. 7, 2024 (NAN) – Former staff of Transport and Port Management System (TPMS), operators of the now-suspended Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) scheme introduced by the Federal Government through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), have called on the government to settle their nine-year unpaid salaries. The ex-workers are requesting the release of funds from over $3.5 million USD generated during CTN operations before its suspension in 2016.

The affected workers made this appeal at a press conference held in Lagos on Thursday, where they voiced frustration over years of unpaid dues and urged the NSC to liquidate their outstanding salaries from the revenue collected.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CTN, also known as the Advanced Cargo Declaration System (ACD), is a global initiative designed to monitor and verify cargo shipments from the point of origin to the destination port.

One former TPMS employee, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that since the scheme’s suspension in 2016, the workers received only two months’ salary payments—covering January and February of that year. According to the employee, TPMS management had repeatedly assured them that the outstanding salaries would be settled once challenges with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) were resolved.

A petition signed by ex-TPMS staff indicated that TPMS management attributed the delay to the government’s TSA policy, which they claimed impeded access to funds. TPMS management reportedly assured workers that once the TSA issues were sorted out, all arrears would be cleared.

Human rights lawyer Barrister Eric Igweokolo, President of the Association for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights (APDHR), took up the case on behalf of the workers, petitioning the government via the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions. During a public hearing, the committee called on the NSC to collaborate with the Accountant General of the Federation to access TSA funds in order to pay TPMS staff their due salaries.

The Senate Committee resolved that the NSC should allocate 40% of the revenue generated by TPMS to settle outstanding salaries owed to the former staff since December 2016, up until the contract’s expiration.

Following the committee’s resolution, Ojo Olatunde Amos, Clerk of the National Assembly, communicated the Senate’s decision to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on August 2, 2021. Additionally, the Office of the SGF forwarded the resolution to the Minister of Transportation and the Accountant General in November 2021, urging compliance.

In response, the Accountant General’s office stated on May 6, 2022, that the NSC had continuous access to its TSA account, countering claims that the TSA restricted the Council’s ability to disburse salaries. Igweokolo accused NSC’s Executive Director, Mr. Hassan Bello, of misleading the Senate Committee by asserting that the TSA blocked access to funds.

“There is no excuse for the NSC withholding workers’ salaries while revenue generated from the CTN was available in its TSA account. The big question now is, where is the money?” Igweokolo asked, raising concerns of potential embezzlement or diversion of funds.

One ex-staff member, Mr. Sunday Unazi-Egwurube, formerly a Manifest Controller with TPMS, appealed to the Senate Committee to revisit the matter, citing severe hardships endured by the workers over the prolonged non-payment.

“We are hungry, we are helpless. We need the good people of Nigeria and government intervention to settle our long overdue salaries,” he stated.

Another former employee, Mr. Hassan Nagog-Idris, a Cargo Controller, shared his anguish over the personal toll, disclosing that he lost his son due to financial hardship.

Mr. Ikenna Nnaman, also a former Manifest Controller, urged the government to mandate the NSC to honor its commitment to pay all accrued TPMS staff salaries.

The ex-workers remain hopeful that the Federal Government will intervene to ensure the NSC complies with the Senate’s resolution and finally addresses the long-standing issue of their unpaid wages.