MEMBERS of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria on Tuesday, May 20, staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.
The union picketed the ministry over arrears and other emoluments allegedly owed to workers.
Dressed in red T-shirts, the workers were seen protesting in front of the ministry building, blocking vehicles from going in and out of the premises.
They displayed placards bearing inscriptions urging the ministry to pay their allowance arrears and other emoluments.
Addressing journalists, Industrial Relations Officer of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) Abuja branch, Patrick Solomon, said at the protest venue that the management of the ministry was insensitive to the workers’ demands.
He said, “We are here to protest the insensitivity to our requests and demands as a union and as members.
“We had certain challenges, and we have used all avenues to resolve the issues, but there were no listening ears. Our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the office has been withheld for nothing less than 15 months.”
According to Solomon, workers found it difficult to work in the ministry because of their withheld allowances and other benefits.
“We have been on this issue with the minister for a very long time now, and it’s obvious he is not ready to listen to us,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, the ministry has yet to respond to the protest.
This is not the first time the Finance Ministry has witnessed such a protest. In November 2024, The ICIR reported the Federal Government’s plans to begin addressing the pension backlog for retired workers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) starting from November 17, after a similar protest.
The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, gave an assurance on the payment during a protest by the Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS) at the Ministry in Abuja on Tuesday, November 12.
The pensioners cited poor remittances, the government’s neglect of CPS, and its abrupt stoppage, leading to delays in the release of the accrued rights portion of retirement benefits to retired workers between 2015 and 2019.