Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has frowned at the action of the new management of the Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja, for arbitrarily sacking the heads of the Delta Steel Company Hospital and the Delta Steel Company Technical High School.

Governor Uduaghan who described the action as “wicked, insensitive and inhuman” has threatened to petition the management to President Goodluck Jonathan, the National Assembly, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria.

While receiving the Senate Committee on Privatisation, he said staffs of the two institutions were working despite several months of unpaid salaries.

According to him, the state government felt concerned about the plight of the workers and decided to assist them with stipends equivalent of their salaries for which the new management of Delta Steel Company suspended the heads.

He said, “Before Aladja was sold the workers there were not being paid especially in the area of education and in the area of health. We had workers who were working in the hospital for years they were not being paid. Teachers who were teaching in the school were not being paid. But the school was still doing well; it was one of the best schools.

“When I visited I found out that these workers were not being paid but they were doing very well. I said as a state since most of the people they teach and treat are our children we felt that we could assist them with some stipends which is equivalent to their salaries until a new management takes over and they start to pay them salary.

“But as soon as this new management took over they suspended the heads of the two institutions, both the hospital and the school that they should not have gone into that kind of arrangement with the state government.”

He commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the various initiatives he has undertaken to boost power supply in the country.

He observed that the recent action of President Jonathan in coordinating the activities of relevant ministries and agencies towards improving gas supply to the nation’s power plants, including the expansion of Otorogu Gas Plant in Delta State would lead to improve power supply.

The governor explained that the decision of the State Government to invest in the power plants at Ughelli , Sapele and the Benin Distribution Company was to enable it monitor their activities and also use accruing funds to subsidise cost of power for the rural communities in the event of increase in tariff.

Governor Uduaghan scored the management of Ughelli Power Plant and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company high in performance but lamented that Sapele Power Plant on the other hand was yet to live up to its production capacity.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privitisation , Olugbenga Obadara, who informed the governor that they were in the state on oversight functions commended him for the keen interest he has shown towards power institutions in the state.

(PUNCH)