Protest As Works Minister Umahi Locks Out Workers Over Lateness 

The Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, on Thursday, locked out staff of his ministry over their late resumption to office duties.

LEADERSHIP reports that the workers consequently staged a protest following the Minister’s decision to lock them outside.

The protesting staff, who were chanting “Umahi Must Go”, lamented that they reside far away and there was no way they come come to the office early.

One of the senior staff, who who spoke with LEADERSHIP on condition of anonymity, said the major reason for their coming to work late was because of the distance of where they are living.

He explained that some of them reside as far as Gwagwalada, Keffi, Abaji, Kuje, Kwali, and Kaduna Road satellite towns and sometimes they join others who have cars to reduce the cost of transportation.

“That some of them are on hundred thousand naira salary a month, some are on N80,000 salary a month and they are married people. So by the time you subtract both transport and everything, you have nothing left with nothing. So, they have to rely on one way or the other to come to office,” he said.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the minister later allowed them in but they refused to enter the Ministry’s building, insisting that the minister must come out and address them.

According to them, their desire was for the minister to take measures about their late coming, adding that he did not warn or issue any circular to inform them that he was going going to lock them out.