A Nigerian technology solutions company, Prunedge Development Technologies, is facing serious allegations of withholding employee salaries for over two years, according to a former employee who shared his experience on LinkedIn.
Anthony C., a Product/UX/UI Designer who worked at the company, detailed his experience in a post that has garnered significant attention online, with over 1,174 reactions, 265 comments, and 131 reposts as of October 2024.
The Timeline of Events
According to the former employee’s account, he joined Prunedge in February 2022 with optimism about his career prospects. However, by October of that same year, the company allegedly announced it had gone bankrupt.
Rather than conducting layoffs in a transparent manner, the company reportedly implemented a 50% pay cut, promising to repay the withheld balance with interest after six months. Some employees accepted these terms out of desperation, while others resigned immediately.
Broken Promises and Continued Operations
When the six-month period elapsed and employees requested their outstanding payments, the company allegedly kept delaying, stating “there’s no money yet.” By 2023, it became clear that the promised payments would not materialize. The former employee resigned, while those who remained were eventually laid off after the company had promised to pay outstanding salaries between January and June 2023.
In what the former employee describes as particularly troubling, Prunedge allegedly continued hiring new employees while owing previous staff members, deliberately ensuring none of the former staff remained so new hires would be unaware of the outstanding salary debts.
Recent Developments
In October 2024, the former employee received an email from Prunedge with the subject line “Update on Outstanding Salary – Payment Plan.” The email, which was shared in his LinkedIn post, acknowledges the company’s financial difficulties.
In the email, Prunedge’s Talent Team stated: “Prunedge has been navigating significant challenges arising from a failed investment, the cancellation of a significant concession project, delayed receivables, and the weight of liabilities that followed all these challenges over the past 24+ months.”
The company’s proposed payment plan includes:
- 50% of outstanding payments between December 2025 and January 2026
- The remaining 50% to be completed between May and June 2026
- Timeline dependent on client commitments and expected inflows
Financial Context
The allegations come amid broader economic challenges in Nigeria. The country has been experiencing high inflation rates, with food inflation reaching 30.64% in September 2023, according to reports. The Nigerian naira has also depreciated significantly, losing approximately 60% of its value against the dollar.
However, the former employee emphasized that his Christmas 2022 was particularly difficult not due to lack of work, but because the company withheld his earned salary.
Company Background and Leadership
Prunedge Development Technologies is an enterprise technology solutions company founded by Joel Ogunsola. According to the company website, Prunedge specializes in cloud solutions, data analytics, AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and hardware infrastructure.
Joel Ogunsola and his wife, Oladiwura (Diwura) Oladepo, are also co-founders of Tech4Dev, a well-regarded nonprofit organization focused on digital skills training across Africa. The couple has been widely celebrated as role models in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem, receiving recognition for their work in technology and social development. They are frequently featured at tech conferences, startup events, and innovation forums across Africa as examples of successful tech entrepreneurs and social impact leaders.
This makes the allegations particularly jarring to many in the tech community, who see a stark contrast between the couple’s public image as champions of opportunity and empowerment, and the alleged treatment of their own employees—described by the former employee as “barbaric” and “inhuman.”
In a Medium post dated December 31, 2023, Ogunsola acknowledged that 2023 was “a very long and trying one” for Prunedge, mentioning that the company had to implement pay cuts and eventually workforce reductions when a private equity deal fell through. He stated that “fundamentally we believe we did all the right things, all other variables were not in our favor.”
Employee Reviews Paint Mixed Picture
Reviews on employment platforms show mixed experiences at Prunedge. On Glassdoor, the company has a rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars based on 74 reviews from employees in Nigeria. However, some reviews mention “owed salaries for 7 months, and still owing for about 2 years now,” corroborating the recent allegations.
Compensation and benefits ratings stand at 3.2 out of 5 stars, equal to the company average.
The Irony of Public Perception
The allegations have sparked particular outrage given the founders’ prominent status in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. While Joel Ogunsola and Oladiwura Oladepo have built reputations as advocates for digital inclusion and youth empowerment through Tech4Dev, the former employee describes their alleged treatment of Prunedge staff as playing with “people’s livelihoods, their families, their hopes, and their dignity.”
The former employee didn’t mince words, stating: “This isn’t just unfair, it’s wickedness of Prunedge, Joel Ogunsola, Oladiwura (Diwura) Oladepo to play with people’s livelihoods, their families, their hopes, and their dignity in this way is nothing short of inhuman.”
Many in the tech community have expressed shock at the disconnect between the couple’s public advocacy for opportunity creation and the allegations of prolonged salary withholding from their own team members.
Call to Action
The former employee concluded his post by cautioning current Prunedge employees: “Dear Prunedge-ers, please make hay while the sun shines,” suggesting they should be prepared for potential payment issues.
Company Response
As of the time of publication, Prunedge has not issued a public statement addressing the allegations beyond the email sent to former employees outlining the payment plan. The company’s proposed timeline extends the wait for full payment to June 2026, nearly four years after the initial salary cuts were implemented.
This article is based on publicly available information and social media posts. The allegations have not been independently verified, and Prunedge has not provided a comprehensive public response to the specific claims.
