Charlez Blog

Information reaching my desk has confirmed that Dangote Group has quietly issued termination letters to almost all the graduate drivers that were recently employed amidst much publicity.

One of the affected graduate drivers who pleaded for anonymity, was actually crying when he narrated their ordeal. 'We went through a training program at NITT, Zaria for three months and were issued with employment letters by the Dangote Group in March 2013 at their head office in Lagos. We were all deployed to Dangote Cement Plant, Obajana ( Transport Division). At Obajana, the head of transport, ALHAJI LADAN, directed that we all be made to undergo an attachment with the more experienced drivers just to enable us gather much experience. We were all undergoing the attachment when, sometimes in May 2013, a directive came from the head office in Lagos, directing that all the graduate drivers that wish to leave driving should indicate interest to be converted to Fleet Officers (which is an office work). We all wrote to be converted to Fleet Officers and that's when the drama started. Instead of doing the conversion process once as was the case when we got issued with employment letters in Lagos, the cabal at Obajana dragged it slowly to enable them to smuggle in many people who were never part of the original set that received training in Zaria and employment letters in Lagos. The conversion started in June 2013 and ended in November 2013, a period of six months for something that should not have taken more than one week for a fair minded and serious set of people. At the end, only very few of the original graduate drivers were converted to Fleet Officers while the cabal in charge of the conversion exercise succeeded in getting their people into the positions meant for the graduate drivers. So, we were waiting for the exercise to continue when on December 02, 2013, the head of transport, ALHAJI LADAN, directed that our salaries be stopped. When we went to find out why our December salaries were stopped, they told us to come back today being January 06, 2014. So, you could imagine our surprises when, on reaching there today, they just came out and started issuing termination letters to us.'
When asked how many graduate drivers were converted to Fleet Officers, he replied that they were about six.
He further revealed that the scheme was actually a ploy used by the company to take a loan from a foreign agency and to boost its image both at home and abroad, and that's why the company is doing away with the graduate drivers now that the deed has been done.
He further berated the set of people that heads the transport sector at Obajana, who are all Northern Hausa Muslims, for being overly incompetent and corrupt.

He is still confused as he seems confused on what to do next.