Emmanuel Peter Wahatana, a worker at the Federal Polytechnic Mubi in Adamawa State, described how his wife left him when he lost his position at the Directorate of Livestock Health and Production.
In a recent interview with The Whistler, Wahatana, a non-academic employee, it was said that Dr. Sadiq Yahaya, the previous polytechnic rector, fired him from his position without cause on January 3, 2013.
He had difficulties as a result of the unanticipated loss of his work since living became hard and intolerable.
“My wife left me because the situation was not as wonderful as it had been. Every attempt she made to reason and be understanding with me fell flat.
“First of all, I was kicked out of my landlord’s home by a close friend because I could not pay my rent on time.
Second, he said that one of his pals went and bought the property and put pressure on the tenants to get me out so he could enter.
As the family’s first son and breadwinner, Wahatana claimed that managing his diabetic mother added to his difficult situation.
It got to the point where I didn’t have enough money to pay for her prescribed meals and medications. I witnessed my mother’s death as a result of her inability to afford her medication. My family was severely impacted by all of them, but thank God that He is God.
“I was fired precisely 10 years and 4 months ago. In reality, it is God’s mercies that have kept me alive. He said I didn’t want to consider the termination since it hurt me too much.
Wahatana said it was illegal and intentional for him to be fired from the Polytechnic.
“I faced no disciplinary committee and wasn’t even the subject of a single inquiry. Before being fired, I had not received an indictment for a crime, which took me aback.
In addition to being illegal, he claimed that his dismissal was part of a calculated strategy to make him potentially worthless and a laughing figure in society.
The disgruntled employee said he used every legal option to get reinstated, but it was unsuccessful.
He said that after sending out a “series of pleas” to request internal remedy without success, he eventually met a young attorney named Mr Samuel Udoh, who took on his case.
On October 15, 2021, he prevailed in the lawsuit in the National Industrial Court in Yola, Adamawa State, with the attorney’s assistance.
The Polytechnic contacted the Court of Appeal Yola division because it was not happy with the ruling.
However, on Thursday of last week, the Appeal Court in Yola made a thoughtful decision to reject the application as meritless and dismiss it as a result.
The National Industrial Court’s final rulings may be appealed to the Court of Appeal, which has the last say.
