…Secretariat staff held hostage
Gabriel Udeh,
Youths, under the name of N-Power staffs have invaded the premises of Planning and Budget commission, Kaduna Unit, protesting over unpaid salary arrears of members who have been working without been paid their wages for months
The protesters, in their hundreds, barricaded entrance into the planning commission premises by Warf road, chanting solidarity song with placard, and stopping vehicles and staffs going in and out of the premises, also hosting Kaduna State Local Government Service Commission office, for about an hour.
Speaking to Journalists, leaders of the aggrieved staffs, Peter Ada and Jimo said they were recruited into the Federal government programme since November 2017, and have not been paid a dine since six months.
“We’re protesting because since last year 2017, we apply for N-Power, they didn’t pay till August when they promise to start paying us the money. From August till now, about five months, they’ve not pay us anything, that is why we’re protesting. We don’t know who has eating our money, whether government has eating our money or give it to somebody, and they eat it.
According to the spokespersons, over 5000 people engaged from all over Kaduna State are affected by the nonpayment of the salaries. “The 23 local governments people are represented here.
The recruitment process was rigorous, cumbersome when we did it, go here go there. N-Power was not like this before. When we call Abuja, they’ll ask you to call your Kaduna focal person, and if we come here they’ll tell you to call Abuja. We don’t even know the Kaduna focal person self, they lamented.
That “The over 5000 affected persons cannot gathered here today because we know the fragile nature of the state. So we’re represented by the 23 local government area of kaduna state here.
The recruitment was conducted through the National Orientation Agency, NOA, and was not like this in the first batch.
We don’t even know what’s going on, between Abuja and Kaduna, we don’t know who to pay us.
We support teachers for teaching in different areas, and we was placed on N30,000 which is not even enough. I’m under Kaduna south in railway Station school, said one jima. I am personally a teacher.
We went to planning and budgets Commission office, the woman who suppose to address us, asked, who want to beat us, we said who are you, we’re not here to beat anybody. She said, she’s not even the focal person or the Director. She become provoked, and left.
Kaduna focal person who suppose to be the Commissioner of finance was not available for comment, we don’t even know him or her.
Contacted for clarifications, the Commissioner of Planning commission, his Deputy, focal person and other top managers were said to have flee, while some said they left office on their own for official assignments.
However, one Usman, had earlier revealed that some of the protesting staff were selectively paid salary, while some were not even staffs of the N-Power at all.
Independent findings revealed that selective treatment has been introduced into the FG scheme as some people and states were paid while some were yet to be paid a dine.
