Sad tales of PHCN workers injured on duty

One year after the privatisation of the power sector, persons whose future has been threatened by accidents they had while working for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria are still left without hopes of survival, ASIDE its market benefits, the privatisation of the power sector has further shown how unprepared stakeholders are for the change. Compensation of permanently disabled persons hitherto working for the defunct. PHCN is still dragging. These once able-bodied individuals now live at the mercy of others, as they cannot fend for themselves. They have suddenly become street beggars and can hardly move about without being aided. Some of the victims narrate their ordeals. Kehinde Adeleke tells his story I was a member of staff of the defunct PHCN, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company. I was working at Oworo Undertaking in Lagos. The unfortunate incident happened on January 25, 2013. I was electrocuted while on official duty. I never knew how I got to the hospital. The first hospital I was taken to was Afolabi Hospital Oworo, where I spent about one hour, according to one of those that rescued me. From there I was transferred to John Ken Hospital, Akoka. I spent two weeks there, and was later taken to Igbobi Hospital, where I spent about a month and my two hands were amputated from the lower elbow.” At the time I was at Igbobi Hospital, the management of PHCN Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company settled the medical bills and also gave me the sum of N100,000 within the month of February. Before the amputation was done, the management of the company entered into an agreement that after the amputation, it would provide me with useful and movable artificial hands, which would be fixed in Germany. This is where the medical team at Igbobi Hospital recommended and the management of the company through the then Principal Manager, Medical Services, Dr. E.L. Thliza unanimously agreed to execute the terms of the agreement within two months. I had to leave Igbobi Hospital for Ikeja Medical Centre on March 11, 2013 when I told the organisation that I would not be able to go home under my condition after being discharged from Igbobi Hospital. I spent another four months at Ikeja Medical Centre. Eventually, on June 20, 2013, a United Bank for Africa cheque of N2,313, 194 was given to me by the company’s management. This money was supposed to cover my passport fees, visa, ticket, as well as accommodation and hospital bills in India, where they recommended I should go for treatment. I left Nigeria on June 29, 2013 and arrived India on June 30, 2013. When I got to the hospital in India, I discovered that the money with me could only cover an artificial hand for one limb. I had to call my management in Nigeria to complain before they sent additional N1,050,000 that covered the second hand, as well as other expenses. However, the artificial hands given to me were not useful. The doctors at the Indian hospital did explain to me that they had useful artificial hands at their headquarters in Germany, which could be obtained for a price that is over 15 times the price of an ordinary one. After I was told this, I called the management of my company from India and explained the options. They promised me that they would make provision for me to get the movable hand whenever I came back to Nigeria. To my surprise, when I came back to Nigeria on August 14, 2013, the PHCN management asked me to write a letter to make my request official, which I did on August 20, 2013. Till this moment, I have not received any reply from them. I suspected that they were trying to push aside my case until the privatisation of PHCN was concluded; when l would be handed over to the new owners, who may not show interest in my case. Up till now, I have not heard from either the former management of PHCN or the new owners. Nobody is talking to me, and I don’t have any idea of what their plans are for me. Quadri Adewale bares his mind I was a 400 level student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, College of Engineering and Technology, Ibogun Campus, Ogun State when this incident occurred. I was doing by Industrial Training then. I joined the National Electricity Power Authority in 2001 as a casual worker at Oworoshonki Undertaking, Ifako-Gbagada. I worked at the fault section under a group led by late Jimoh Olabiwoninu (Supervisor) till 2003. I hail from Epe Local Government area of Lagos. In September 2003, I was transferred to Maryland centre in Lagos due to shortage of workforce at the centre. I got admission to study at the above-named university before the unbundling of NEPA in 2004/2005, which automatically ended my contract with them. I came back to the company in 2008 for my industrial training, and after one week of joining them at Magodo Service Centre, Olowora Undertaking – specifically on May 5, 2008 at around 7.10pm while I was doing an official work along Falowo Street, Magodo Estate, the accident happened. I was electrocuted on 11,000 voltages of electricity as a result of lack of co-ordination between Ojodu District Dispatch man and the 11KVA operator at Maryland, who was later sacked. The Magodo Service Centre team that was working that day including me were: Service Engineer, Mr. A Kazeem; Supervisor, and Mr.Okpo; Line man. Others were Mr. A. Adesanya; Mr. Pauma and Mr. Kunle who are contract staff. Another contract worker, Mr. Sunday, was killed in the incident. However, I was fortunate to have survived the accident and was transferred to Lagos State University teaching Hospital for quick medical attention. In order to save my life, both my hands were amputated. I had no option! Meanwhile, I was operated four times at the Burns Unit of LASUTH, and after spending a year and four months there, I was discharged for further treatment abroad. The decision to fly me abroad came up in 2009. While I was admitted at LASUTH, a committee from then PHCN Ikeja Zonal Office visited me and promised to make appropriate recommendations to the PHCN management. Nothing was done until my case got to the Ministry of Power, and PHCN management was directed to treat my matter urgently. This, therefore, prompted the management to fly me to India for prosthetic surgery, which was intended to aid my mobility. The travelling was coordinated by the General Manager, Medical at the Abuja headquarters . All I can say about the travelling is that it was a complete fraud because provision for my prosthesis was sub-let twice. As such, I came back with disappointment, anger and a lot of grief due to the category of prosthesis provided. The then management of PHCN Ikeja zone apologised and promised to take decisive and urgent actions. However, an ad hoc committee was set up to look into the matter and make recommendations. The committee met me at PHCN Clinic Office, Oshodi Lagos on March 2010 to know my demands. I demanded three things, which were: the urgent replacement of my prosthesis; a permanent accommodation; and compensation. Meanwhile, the committee approved these three recommendations and added that some allowances be given to me to ease my suffering, which included paying for my accommodation temporarily. The management quickly acted on the temporary recommendations but failed to act on the main demands I made up till this moment. As if this was not enough, the management also stopped all temporary benefits since October 2013. When the new owners bought PHCN, I went to them to see how my case could be taken up. A good number of times I could not gain access. When I finally succeeded and asked for my file, I could not also access that. In fact, in one of my last visits, I was told to take the whole misfortune as an act of God, and move on with my life. Ashade Sulaimon Lamidi explains his ordeal I was employed as a casual lineman in 2005, and I worked at the distribution department. As a casual worker, there was no leave, as I had to work on weekends. I worked till 2011. On July 7, 2011, my Assistant Undertaking Manager, Abule-Egba, Mr. Lekan Oladunjoye, who is currently a Senior Manager at Ipaja Undertaking, called me on phone to patrol and clear the fault on our network at Meiran service centre on Abeokuta 11KVA feeder, which had been out on fault since 2am. I had to obey his order. But before I cleared the fault, I went to the operator at Ijaye injectyion station, Mr. Taiwo Lekan, who confirmed the faulty feeder and tagged it to be a deadline; while urging me to go ahead. I got there, and while I was working at FHA Housing Estate, Salolo substation, power supply came suddenly. I almost got killed by this incident, but was rushed to a hospital in Ikeja. After two days, I was transferred to Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi Lagos. The medical supervisor at the hospital recommended to the union team that came to see me that my right hand should be amputated. I was discharged on November 10 that year, and became an external patient at the PHCN medical centre at Alasia, Oshodi; and an ad hoc committee was set up to look into my case. By March 29, 2012, my casual appointment was regularised and I became a permanent employee with staff number: 825944. After this, I wrote a letter of insurance compensation, which was approved by my then Business Manager at Ipaja, as well as Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Chris Akamnonu, to the Zonal Account Manager. Though they confirmed the approval, the account manger refused to pay the money until the new owners came on board. All effort to collect the money proved abortive, and when the new owners took over the company, I was kicked out of the system. Now, I have been turned to a common street beggar. Temiloluwa Oniyide tells her story On October 24, 2011 at Maryland Ikeja, I was passing by and a high tension wire fell on me. Immediately I became unconscious and was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where I spent over eight months being attended to. Three people were involved in the accident, but the other two persons died on the spot. Throughout my stay in the hospital, the PHCN management did not do anything. My family members paid part of the bills given to us, and when we could not clear the entire bill, the management of the company now intervened. The management of the company also promised my family that they would take me to India for surgery and subsequent acquisition of an artificial hand that would help me do things on my own. They finally took me to India for treatment, but the artificial hand I never saw. I spent two months in India, but both hands could not be salvaged. They were not amputated, but they are not useful to me right now. The hospital in India told me to return to India after eight months I was discharged so that a reassessment could be done on me. Unfortunately, the period I was to return to India was the same time the privatisation of PHCN was being done. So, I could not return to India. After the new owners took over the company, I also went to the new management, and I was told nothing could be done to my case. I am appealing to the management of the new company and government to come to my rescue. I am still young and I am not married. Prior to this accident, I was trading in building materials. Now, that business is dead, and I don’t know what to do with myself. As we speak, I cannot feed myself, I cannot take my bath or wear my clothes myself. People help me to do all these now. I now depend on people for everything. Feeding is now a challenge for me, and the only way out is to go about begging. The position of the new owners of the company – Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company The Head, Communications Strategy, IKEDC, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, in an interview with our correspondent, admitted he had knowledge of the three accident cases. According to him, the victims were adequately compensated and taken care of before the handover to the new owners of the company. Unfortunately, he said after the takeover, government created a liability company called the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited to take care of all the liabilities of electricity distribution companies prior to their privatisation. “All the files and outstanding reports on these accident cases have been transferred to NELMCO. The only thing we are doing here right now is to assist NELMCO to facilitate the processes. These accident victims were never abandoned by us. As you can see, we took two of them abroad and continued to buy drugs for them when they had the challenge. We even attempted to rehabilitate one of them,” Adeyanju said. He said the company was not neglecting their cases as their matter was still being discussed in management meetings. When asked what the plans of NELMCO were for the victims, he declined, saying he would not be able to speak for NELMCO. He said there were many cases bordering on liabilities before NELMCO. He listed the cases to include: contract liabilities and many other medical/health liabilities, among other claims. “In order not to stifle distribution companies, the NELMCO initiative became very necessary. Federal government had to take that step. If not, I do not think DISCOs will be able to take off. The outstanding claims are many, and the government deliberately created NELMCO for that,” the IKEDC spokesperson said. He described the situation as unfortunate as it borders on human life. Adeyanju said the management of IKEDC remained committed to accelerating the processes of compensation through NELMCO. He said the accident victims did not have any business coming to IKEDC office, but stressed, “There is no way any of them will come to our office and we deny them entrance. They were once our staff members. If we can open our doors to customers and former staff members, how much more the ones with medical conditions. “Our door is open, and all they need to do is to come around so that we can, together, contact NELMCO.” He admitted that the new owners of the company had not had a meeting with the accident victims since they came on board, saying no letter had been received from them seeking a meeting. The case of the lady affected by a fallen cable, he said NELMCO still had responsibility to address that alongside other liabilities tied to contracts. He said the lady was also taken care off when the incident occurred. NELMCO’s position The Managing Director, NELMCO, Dr. Samuel Agbogun, told our correspondent in an interview that the company already has a few cases it is dealing with as regards pending liabilities from the defunct PHCN especially from the Lagos area. He said the company inherited the liabilities and did not get all the relevant information on the cases before it. He said some aggrieved persons had gone to court due to lack of response from PHCN, adding that all such court cases had been transferred to the company. “We are looking at them one after the other to see how best we can resolve them. One or two we have been able to resolve, and a few are in the process of resolution. A few have not even come to our notice. The point is that any liability on the ground will be dealt with by NELMCO,” he said. Agbogun said the company’s major challenge for now was funding, and the company is optimistic that it will overcome that. He described as unfortunate the plight of some accident victims, saying the legal department of NELMCO would have to look at the files of the victims that could be accessed by NELMCO, with the intention of identifying the kind of insurance policy backing the employment of the victims by PHCN. He said, “We can tap into this. But PHCN was a terrible organisation. It didn’t do some of these covers; and if the company didn’t do it or pay their premium, they (the victims) will not be able to get their compensation. It is a sad situation really. The NELCO boss explained, “I have not seen any of these victims you are talking about. For some, I have seen some correspondences from their lawyers. It is unfortunate because PHCN itself didn’t do sufficient due diligence, as their reports are haphazard. They didn’t tell us what was happening until some people protested to us. “You know the way the handover happened. It was not very cordial. We need to look at what the law says and what insurance PHCN had for these people, and see how we can tap into it and address some of the issues raised. Of course, we have the report that some of them were taken to India and the like. Now, we have to get details of these cases. It is really unfortunate. Labour’s stand In this light, the President-General, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, Mr. Bede Opara, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said if the victims had not been compensated or adequately compensated by the company, it was wrong because the incident happened before the power firms were sold. Opara, who pointed out that the cases were yet to reach him, said, “They are entitled to their compensations. He said though the sector had been privatised, government still had stake in it, and incidents like these were liabilities were part of the liabilities government should make provisions for. He said, “There are provisions for such liabilities in the whole arrangement. If these victims are not given the required attention by the new owners of the company, they should make their cases known to the Ministry of Power. “Nobody had bought the power companies before the accidents happened, and so, it is part of the liabilities bought by the new owners.” The regulator speaks The Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi, said there were compensation arrangements for injuries incurred at workplaces, and if the victims felt they had not been fairly treated, they could engage their labour unions to sort out the issues. He said the workman compensation law still existed, and victims could also go to court to seek redress. “The court can determine who will be responsible for the compensation, whether NELMCO, the new owners of the company or the government. It is something that the court determines. NERC really can’t help this kind of situation,” Amadi said. It thus appears that conscious efforts are not being made to address the numerous liability issues linked to the defunct PHCN. It is over a year that the sector was privatised, and if the circumstances surrounding the compensation arrangement of these accident victims still remain unclear, then government, the new owners of the power firms and other stakeholders, need to get their act together.