Nigerian tea company protests alleged intimidation by multinational rival

Workers of a Kano-based tea company, Z&Y Black Tea, on Monday staged a protest at Government House, Kano, over alleged sabotage of the company’s business by a multinational rival, Promasidor Holdings.

The protesters begged Governor Abba Yusuf to intervene and stop the alleged intimidation of the workers by the bigger company.

The General Manager of B&Y Black Tea, Abubakar Dahir, said the company organised the protest to seek Governor Yusuf’s intervention in the security agents’ arrest of its workers.

Mr Dahir said his company’s production was being disrupted by the constant harassment of its workers by security agents from Abuja.

‘’The makers of Top Tea are alleging that the design of our product is similar to their own, but instead of them going through normal channels, they are intimidating us with security agents.

‘’We have all our documentation, including the trade mark of the design of our product by all the relevant agencies,” Mr Dahir said.

Mr Dahir alleged that the multinational tea company was trying to undermine his company’s business by frequently arresting its staff members.

“With over 500 workers, we legally registered our trade mark. Despite this, our rival has continued to intimidate us, using security agents after we won our cases in court.

“The police have arrested our staff, levelled baseless accusations against them and took them to Abuja. These have been happening, frustrating our efforts and diverting our attention from continuing production.

A photo of the protesters

“The foreign company is using the security agents to intimidate us. We are here to beg the governor to intervene and allow the company to survive and sustain its production and workforce.

“Let the government investigate the intimidation by the foreign company against our staffers using security agents”, Mr Dahir, who led the protest, said.

The governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Shehu Wada, received the protesters and assured them that the government would intervene in the matter.

“We have received your complaints, the government will not allow unwholesome practices in the state. I am happy that you have registered your trademark with certification from the Corporate Affairs Commission.

“I will assure you that the government will do everything possible to support the small, medium and even the large industries operating in Kano,” Mr Wada said.

Promasidor Nigeria Limited could not be reached immediately to respond to the allegation. The contact numbers on the company’s website did not connect Tuesday afternoon, and its customer care contact rang several times without a response.