The president of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, Dr Stephen Udezi, has confirmed the dismissal of three of its members over alleged misconduct and indiscipline.
The president said that the members were dismissed after a thorough investigation into their conduct by the Governing Board, adding that their dismissal followed the ISPON establishment act.
Udezi made this known during a press briefing on Wednesday in Lagos, where he alleged the dismissed members were suspended for consistently fanning the ember of crisis in the institute and for falsely parading themselves as Governing Executives of ISPON.
The president who gave the names of the suspended members, Timothy Iwuagwu, Mrs Esther Williams, and Olayinka Fatunsi, added that they cease being members of the institute until they retrace their steps and officially apologise to the body.
Udezi specifically emphasised how Iwuagwu had allegedly been parading himself as the president of the institute despite losing a keenly contested election in Abuja, conducted by the House Committee on Safety Standards and Regulations between October 17 and 19, 2024.
Udezi insisted that he and the other 10 governing members were duly elected during the ISPON Annual General Meeting at the Professional Development Conference in Abuja.
He recalled that the National Assembly had intervened to resolve the lingering crisis crippling the institute in the last few years but regretted that some members of the institution were bent on causing discord.
He said, “Before now, there were legal factions against ISPON, and some people went to the National Assembly for mediation and to call all factions together to resolve the crisis.
“Three people went outside – Barr. Chuks Nwachukwu, Dr Stephen Udezi and Mr Timothy Iwuagwu spoke for over 40 minutes at the National Assembly; we all agreed that we wanted peace and unification in ISPON. So, we came back to the National Assembly, and we told them our agreement.
“Then, they told us that each faction should bring four persons to form a caretaker committee of the institute, making it 12 persons in all.
The National Assembly, in their wisdom, also said the chairman of the committee must be an honourable member, and they picked Hon. Harrison, who is the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Safety Standards and Regulations, as the Chairman of the Committee and a staff member of the National Assembly as the secretary.
“The election was keenly contested among three candidates, and I emerged victorious, and the winners were given a Certificate of Return sometime later. That was an election that unified ISPON.”
He challenged Iwuagwu to present documents supporting his election as the president of ISPON, threatening that the institute would not hesitate to take legal action against him for deceiving the members of the public.
When contacted for a response, Timothy Iwuagwu insisted that our correspondent must be physically present at his office before he could respond to the development.
Iwuagwu added that he would be away for a week, and our correspondent agreed to meet him upon his return from his trip.
