Minister of Works Umahi locks out workers over lateness

Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Thursday, locked out staff of his ministry for resuming late work.
Consequently, entry and exit of the ministry were stopped by the protesting workers who described the minister as dictatorial.
The protesters who were heard chanting “Umahi must go,” expressed displeasure over his action which they said did not take into consideration the fact that they reside in areas outside the city centre.
One of the staff who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said: “Most of us live in areas as far as Suleja in Niger State, some in Gwagwalada, Keffi, Abaji, Kuje Kwali, Kaduna road."
“Matters have been compounded by the fuel subsidy removal. Most times, we have to join some of our friends who have cars to come to work because of the huge transportation cost."
“Most of us don’t earn up to N80,000 as salary monthly, how do we feed our families and meet other obligations?"
”We expect the minister to show better understanding of the situation in the country, instead of trying to run this place like Ebonyi State.”

Calm was, however, restored following the intervention of the union and other senior officials of the ministry.
However, it was reported that the Minister later allowed them in but they refused to enter the Ministry’s building, insisting that he must come out and address them.
According to them, they want the former Ebonyi State governor to take measures about their late coming.
They added that he did not warn or issue any circular to inform them that he was going to lock them out.
It was gathered that the Permanent Secretary is planning a meeting with directors and other departmental heads to find a middle ground to avoid a repeat of the incident.