Headlines
Court orders Access Bank to remove ex-employee from debtors list
The National Industrial Court in Abuja has ordered Access Bank Plc to remove a former employee, Sarah Longe, from its list of debtors.
The order as directed by Justice Polycarp Hamman also stated that the claimant’s name should be withdrawn as debtor in the Credit Bureau Department within 30 days.
The court further declared the listing and subsequent sending of Longe’s details to the Credit Bureau Department as a debtor, as unlawful and unjustifiable.
Hamman delivering the judgment held that the claimant was not indebted in any way to Access Bank, neither during her employment from 2014 to 2016 nor after the termination of her employment.
The court in addition awarded the sum of N2 million as general damages in favour of the claimant.
From facts, the claimant had submitted that her employment as a Banking Executive Trainee, was abruptly terminated for no reason by the defunct Diamond Bank in 2016 before it was acquired by Access Bank.
She averred that she subsequently received debit alerts stating that she was indebted to the bank in the sum of N203,639 which accrued from unearned rent among others.
She further submitted that she was denied another employment because of the bad credit report authored and written by the defendant which was sent to all the financial institutions in Nigeria.
Longe also said that she lost several opportunities in her career advancement due to the embargo placed on her person and profile by the defendant.
In defence, the defendant averred that since the allegations of the claimant occurred before they acquired Diamond Bank, the suit had commenced four years after the claimant was disengaged.
The defendant also argued there was no reasonable cause of action against its GMD, whom the claimant joined as a defendant in the suit.
The bank further averred that the alleged bad credit report to the Credit Bureau Department cannot in law bar the claimant from future employment in a financial institution.
The defendant in closing its case urged the court to dismiss the case in its entirety as the claimant was not entitled to any of the claims in the suit.
In reply, the claimant maintained that the defendant was responsible and liable for the trauma and financial difficulties she suffered by virtue of the credit report it authored.
The claimant also said that the instant suit disclosed a reasonable cause of action against the GMD.
She, therefore, urged the court to grant the reliefs she sought.
The court on its part after evaluating the submissions of both parties dismissed the defendant’s objection about its jurisdiction and affirmed the jurisdiction of the court.
The court also held that the suit failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action against the GMD of the bank.
The court held that the claimant having utilised the allowances paid to her as upfront before the termination of her appointment in May 2016, was not indebted to the bank.
The court further stressed that the bank had failed to show the court whether, by law, practice in the banking sector or even the agreement between the parties allowances paid upfront to employees at the beginning of the year are to be refunded if the employee’s appointment is terminated within the same year.
The court, however, stated that the claimant’s claim for loss of earning and career advancement, was unproved and the same was refused by the court.
(NAN)
The Kano State Government has inaugurated a 14-member committee tasked with reviewing existing education policies in the state.
Inaugurating the committee on Thursday in Kano, the Commissioner for Education, Dr Ali Makoda, said that the committee was constituted by the Kano State Executive Council to assess the state’s education policies.
“This committee was originally scheduled to be inaugurated by the governor, but due to prior engagements, he has delegated the responsibility to me so that we can begin our work immediately,” Makoda stated.
The Commissioner outlined the committee’s terms of reference, which include reviewing the four existing education policies in the state to assess whether they align with the cultural and religious beliefs of the people.
“Evaluating the feasibility of implementing the policies, and making recommendations to strengthen the state’s education system.”
He noted that the four policies to be reviewed include the Kano State Girls’ Education Policy, Kano State Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy, Kano State Non-State School Policy, and Kano State Teacher Development Policy.
Makoda announced that the committee has been given three weeks to submit its report, and urged the members to leverage their expertise to produce recommendations that would enhance the state’s education sector.
In his response, the committee chairman, Malam Abdullahi Dutse, assured the commissioner of the committee’s commitment to work collaboratively to meet the expectations placed on them.
“Considering the diverse expertise of the committee members, I believe the government has selected individuals with the right skills to address the challenges facing education in the state. We will work diligently to provide the necessary report,” he said.
The committee’s members include Malam Abdullahi Dutse (Chairman), Prof Abdallah Uba -Adamu, Habibu Dan Almajiri, Alhaji Danlami Garba, Kano State Commissioner for Women, Children, and Disabled Affairs Hajiya Amina Abdullahi, and Isa Ahmad.
Other members are Prof Tijjani Naniya, Malam Kabiru Hanga, Munzali Mustapha, Prof Auwal Halliru Arzai, and Dr Bashir Aliyu -Umar.
The remaining include the representatives of the Emirate Council and Civil Society Organizations, and Ibrahim Bawa, Director of Archives and Publications, who will serve as Secretary of the committee.
The U.S. Deputy-Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, has extolled Nigeria’s partnership in the successful repatriation of funds linked to forfeited luxury real estate and Galactica Star Superyacht. (more…)
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated six Nigerians named by President Joe Biden among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.
This recognition, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.
This year’s awardees, announced by Biden on Jan. 14, are employed or funded by 14 participating United States government agencies, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
The Nigerian honourees include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; and Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University.
Others are: Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University;
The rest are: Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Case Western Reserve University.
Tinubu commended the awardees for their achievements in science, technology and engineering.
He noted that recognising the talents of the awardees underscored Nigerians’ vast potential to excel both at home and on the global stage.
Tinubu looked forward to the honourees sharing their multidisciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria’s development efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda. (more…)
Kano inaugurates 14-member committee to review education policies
U.S commends Nigeria over Galactica funds repatriation efforts
Tinubu congratulates Nigerian scientists, engineers on making Biden’s honour list
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