Workers’ rage rocks Abuja: Labour demands immediate release of unpaid allowances

By Victor Ahiuma-Young, Abuja

Tensions roseate successful the Federal Capital Territory yesterday arsenic the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) demanded the contiguous colony of long-standing entitlements owed to nationalist servants, informing that authorities inaction could spark wider unrest.

In a connection issued connected Thursday, ASCSN Secretary-General, Joshua Apebo, condemned what helium described arsenic the “forceful dispersal” of protesting workers who had gathered astatine the Ministry of Finance connected September 15 to property for outgo of their benefits.

“For the past 10 years, this national has submitted respective memoranda to the Federal Government urging the outgo of arrears owed to nationalist work employees,” Apebo said. He listed the entitlements to see wage arrears, promotion arrears, elongation arrears, the archetypal 28 days successful lieu of edifice accommodation, work circuit allowance, and allowances for Education Officers displaced from Unity Schools successful the North-East.

The national recalled that resolutions passed astatine successive Annual General Meetings of chairmen of the 110 Federal Unity Schools — including 1 held successful May 2024 successful Lagos — were forwarded to the Ministry of Education. It noted that an ultimatum issued successful January 2025 demanding implementation of the resolutions had gone unheeded.

ASCSN warned that the predominant storming of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) by aggrieved employees seeking overdue payments was becoming “a large embarrassment to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.” It urged the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to instantly merchandise funds to settee arrears owed to Education Officers and different civilian servants.

The national besides lamented the suspension of gratuity payments since 2004, stressing that the Pension Reform Act did not abolish gratuities. “We person consistently written to the Council and the Presidency connected the request to reconstruct gratuity payments to nationalist work employees,” Apebo said.

Reaffirming its past of defending workers’ rights — including a seven-week onslaught and ineligible conflict against the projected privatisation of Unity Schools nether erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo — ASCSN distanced itself from allegations linking it to immoderate effort to sabotage operations astatine the Ministry of Finance.

“With the sacrifices we person made implicit the years to support the interests of nationalist servants, nary 1 should subordinate this national with immoderate enactment aimed astatine undermining authorities business,” the connection declared.

The national called connected President Tinubu to personally intervene, insisting that punctual colony of each outstanding allowances and arrears would calm tempers and reconstruct assurance successful the government’s committedness to workers’ welfare.

The station Workers’ rage rocks Abuja: Labour demands contiguous merchandise of unpaid allowances appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.