Cleaners charged with the responsibility of cleaning the office complex of the FCT Minister and other Agencies and Departments within the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) complex have once again downed tools over non-payment of salary arrears.
The cleaners, who came out in large numbers yesterday to demand for their salaries, also rained curses on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, and the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, for delaying their salaries, saying that the non-payment of their meager salaries had made life very difficult for them and their families.
Blueprint reports that the cleaners, mostly widows and orphans, threatened that until the Administration paid up the outstanding salaries, members would not go back to their various duty posts.
“I have not paid my children’s school fees for last term because of these greedy people who take delight in seeing the poor masses suffering. Their children are in big schools in Abuja and some abroad. It will not be well with their generation for this pain we are undergoing. If it is the minister or the permanent secretary or any big man who is withholding our payments, I pray to my God that it shall not be well for him and members of his families,” one of the protesters rained curses.
One of the cleaners told newsmen that the FCTA owed them a backlog of three months’ salary arrears.
It was gathered that the protest was the fifth upon since the inception of the present FCT Administration eight months ago.
As at the time of filing in this report, the minister and the permanent secretary were not in seat to address the protesters.
However, a source in the permanent secretary’s office, who pleaded anonymity, said the delay in payment was as a result of Treasury Single Account (TSA) introduced by the federal government, stressing that the Administration was still waiting to hear from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
