Area Council Workers Threaten To Shut Down Secretariats Over Unpaid Allowances

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the six area council chairmen to implement its members’ allowances and benefits, or it will shut down the area council secretariats.

A communique signed by the president of NULGE in FCT, Comrade Abdullahi Kabbi, which was issued to newsmen at the end of the emergency State Executive Council (SEC) meeting at the union state secretariat in Gwagwalada on Friday, said the union would as from October 6 to 15, 2024, embark on strike if their demands are not met.

They said the decision to issue the seven-day ultimatum was arrived at the meeting after several efforts by the union to ensure that the six area council chairmen implemented and paid the backlogs of its members’ allowances failed.

The union said the six area council chairmen have failed to implement its staff 40 per cent peculiar allowances on the CONPSS salary scale with effect from January 2023.

The union also said the six area council chairmen have failed to implement their members’ 25 per cent CONHESS/CONMESS salary adjustment, which he said was effective from June 2023.

They added that the council chairmen have also failed to pay the ₦35,000 Federal Government Palliative Wage Award for FCT area councils unified staff, which he said was effective from July 2023 and also 35 per cent as well as 25 per cent salary adjustment effective from January 2024.

According to the union, the six area council chairmen have also failed to remit pension deductions of its members to pension fund administrators, which he said were employer and employee contributions.

The union said that despite the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, having fulfilled his promise of paying 40 per cent within the agreed 3-month period, some of the council chairmen still tampered with the funds.

“And when the NULGE raised the matter at the meeting, the council chairmen claimed that the money is part of their 10 per cent Internally Generated Revenue (IGR),” he said.

The communique further stated, “Six area council chairmen have refused to offset the backlog of arrears owed to staff, as contained in the ministerial ad-hoc committee report set up in September 2023 by the Honorable Minister of FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, as captured in the agreed template before the suspension of the strike in January 2024,”.

The union noted that the six area council chairmen have failed to pay the remaining 60 per cent of their obligation as directed and agreed upon within the 3-month timeframe during the intervention meeting with Wike.

The union also called on Wike to investigate the council chairmen over their non-compliance to its members’ 60 per cent contribution, despite the improved monthly allocations to the councils.

The FCT ALGON chairman, who is also the chairman of Kwali area council, Danladi Chiya, did not respond to calls put to him, including a text message to his phone on the development.