Members of staff of the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company, AUMTCO, on Friday, protested in tears over the sacking of their Managing Director, Najib Mahmoud Abdussalam.
Abdussalam, an indigene of Kano State is among the heads of 21 agencies, parastatals and government-owned companies sacked by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike on Wednesday.
The outgoing MD who has spent less than 4 months on the job, has obviously won the hearts of many with the outpouring of love and sympathy shown by the staff of the company
According to them, Mr Abdussalam had brought transformational changes to the company within his short time at the helm of affairs.
Staff of AUMTC of different tribes, ethnic background and religious affiliation were seen in a video shedding tears as they offered various prayers for him, especially for his return to the company, saying that he has done well for them.
Addressing a crowd of staff who came out to bid him farewell, an official of the amalgamated union of public corporations, civil service technical and recreational services employees [AUPCTRE] said the staff would have staged a protest if the MD was the only person affected by the minister’s order.
“If we don’t appreciate him, God will not forgive us, and that’s why we are here to show him that we appreciate what he has achieved.
“If he were to be the only one affected, we would have taken our protest to the minister’s office”, the official said.
Another member of staff said, “We pray you come back and meet us soon. Because we still need you, we still have hope in you. You have changed this place. If someone is bringing change, many people will not like him, God in heaven saw what you have done”.
Another staff member said even an Angel can’t beat the record set by Mr Abdulsalam in the past three months.
“Even if they bring an angel from heaven, he will not achieve what the MD has achieved in just three months. Some people have held the position for 10 years with nothing to show,” the worker said.
