Protesters Kick as Umahi Bars Ministry Staff for Lateness to Work

*Angry staff block road, turn back motorists

*Minister not locked out, says ministry

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Many motorists who ply the single-lane road adjacent the ministry of works in Mabushi, Abuja, were turned back yesterday after staff of the ministry barricaded the road in anger.
The workers were protesting being locked out by the Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, for resuming late for official duties.
Irked by the development, some of the workers, who chanted “Umahi Must Go”, insisted that rather than find out why they were not punctual to work, the minister decided to be highhanded about it.

Umahi had on several forums maintained that no civil servant would succeed in frustrating the work he has begun in the ministry, blaming them, especially the engineers for many of the lapses he discovered since taking over in the ministry.
Aside the issue of lack of monitoring of projects which he blames for the incessant deterioration of roads, the minister had also accused the senior staff of the ministry of conniving with contractors to jerk up contract sums.

But the angry workers lamented that they reside far away from their places of work and are being paid poorly, making it impossible to cope with the rising cost of transport.
One of the employees who decided to speak on the condition of anonymity, said some of the workers come from as far as Keffi, Abaji, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and Kaduna Road satellite towns.

It was gathered that even though the minister later allowed them in, the workers refused to enter the ministry’s building, insisting that the minister must come out and address them. They were also said to have barred the minister from going out of the office.

They also claimed that Umahi “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”.
Umahi had insisted that he needed another layer of assurance in terms monitoring of road projects and will deploy individual consultants to the regions to report back to him on daily progress of work.

But in a reaction last night, the ministry in a statement signed by the Director (Information) Press & Public Relations Unit, Blessing Lere-Adams, said that Umahi was at no time locked up in his office, nor denied access.
The minister, the statement said, had attempted  to bring sanity and orderliness to the service by ensuring that services are rendered as at when due to grow the Nigerian economy to everyone’s benefit.

According to the statement, the ‘near incident’ was quickly arrested while the situation was brought under control.
“The ministry’s union chairperson, Mr. Williams Kuti during a meeting with the minister, permanent secretary and management staff opined that the minister had started on a good note by identifying both the needs of Nigerians in the quest for good and durable roads and bridges.

“The union chairman alongside other  staff during the meeting requested for more staff buses to ease their movement to and from their home locations, especially with the subsidy removal and the high cost of transportation,” it stated.
It added that in his address, the minister reminded them of his several attempts at ensuring that things were done right and also that international best practices were respected in by all contractors.