Workers demand minister's immediate sack [PHOTOS]

Workers at the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing on Thursday, October 6, 2016, demanded the sack of the minister, Babatunde Fashola and the permanent secretary, Abubakar Magaji.

The workers, consisting of workers from the two arms of the ministry-Works and Housing, were protesting the poor condition of service and the alleged high-handedness, and aloofness of the leaders.

"All the contractors handling major projects are Magaji's friends,"No more corruption, it must stop," read some of the placards.

Comrade Aliyu Abdulazeez and Sam Apeh (in-house union leaders) were said to have been arrested on the order of the minister.

"There are a lot of issues in contention. When this man joined us in February, it has been lies upon lies. He came, for him to address the staff, took him a lot of time," said Comrade Alaka Olumuyiwa, the chairman, Union Council, Works and Housing.

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"And in terms of welfare, he has deliberately refused to pay burial benefits, first 28days and promotion arrears. Even our staff that have retired and supposed to get reparation, have not been paid.

"This is October, we have not started any training and we heard that money has been released for that purpose. The ministry is stagnant."

He also lamented the merging of Works and Housing ministries under the same headship, adding that the housing sector had been neglected on account of that.

However, a source in the ministry stated that the workers were protesting because it was no longer 'business as usual' in the ministry.