- Pix above(l-r): Minister Dave Umahi and the protesting workers
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Angry civil servants at the Ministry of Works, on Thursday, in Abuja, locked up Tinubu’s minister, Dave Umahi, inside his office for refusing to grant them audience to express their numerous grievances on the unacceptable ways he has been handling the affairs of the ministry since his appointment.
The drama began when the minister was said to have prevented workers who came to work late from gaining access to the ministry.
The union members comprising the old Housing and Works Ministry decided to lock the ministry, blocking entry and exit and preventing the minister from leaving the office.
Additionally, the and angry workers claim that he stopped engineers and directors from doing their work, and has been breaking public service rules since his appointment, by bringing in consultants to run the affairs of the ministry.
AIT reportsn that a union official, Williams Kudi, said that the minister has refused to grant them an audience to express their concerns.
In the heat of the protest, the Minister decided to open up the entrance to the Ministry, but the workers chose to remain outside, demanding an apology from the minister.
Following the protest, Umahi apologized and addressed the staff members and promised to improve their welfare, particularly as most complained about the high cost of transportation and the distance of the Ministry from their residence.
Meanwhile, the minister, thereafter, asked to meet with the staff to better understand their plight and rightly intervene by providing more staff buses, among other interventions./SHARE THIS
–The protesting workers
