Nigeria Content Online

There was mild
drama at the federal secretariat, Abuja, yesterday, when the Minister
of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, arrived at the premises to see
a number of workers locked outside the gates for coming late to work.
The head of service, Stephen Oronsaye, had directed that the doors be
shut against civil servants who come to work after 8.30am.

The lockout was
part of efforts to enforce the strict attendance regime Mr Oronsaye
began a few weeks ago. The gates remained shut for almost three hours
and senior civil servants, including a permanent secretary, were denied
entry until the minister’s arrival led to the opening of the gates. Mr
Wogu, however, denied ordering the gates open, saying the gatemen on
hearing his siren must have flung them open, thus allowing all the
civil servants who had been locked out to rush in.

Fence mending

A spokesman for the
head of the civil service, Tope Ajakaiye, however, tried to diffuse the
tension, saying that Mr Oronsaye had not explicitly directed that the
gates be locked.

“The Head of
Service is merely trying to eradicate late-coming in the service.
Permanent secretaries were told to ensure that their wards came on
time, not that they should lock the gate,” he said.

Mr. Wogu also
claimed that he did not intend to overturn Mr. Oronsaye’s directive,
stating that he was merely trying to get into his office.

“How can I go above what the Head of Service has directed?” he asked.

“The situation is embarrassing. I honestly did not mean for the gates to be opened for everyone,” he said.

The majority of
government ministries and agencies are situated in the wings of the
Federal Secretariat, including the ministries of Power, Niger Delta,
Labour and Productivity, Science and Technology, Aviation and the
office of the Minister of State for Information and Communication.

A pound of flesh

Prior to the labour
minister’s arrival, civil servants loitered around the premises in
groups, discussing their ordeal. Others sat in their cars, reading.

At the Phase II
building of the secretariat, a group of them forced their way in when
it was opened for a high-profile visitor, but those at the Head of
Service side of the secretariat were locked out up till 11am.

One of the workers,
who asked to remain anonymous, said he was not told about the lockout
beforehand. He accused the federal government of being callous, saying
that instead of punishing civil servants, the government should look
for ways of improving workers’ welfare by providing good roads, an
effective transport system and low cost housing estates not far from
the city centre.

“Asking us to come
to work early without considering the reality of the situation on
ground amounts to demanding for a pound of flesh,” he said.

Many civil servants
said their meagre resources and high cost of rent in Abuja, forced them
to make do with accommodation in surrounding towns such as Suleja,
Madalla, Masaka, Kuje, Gwagwalda, and Mararaba. However, the increasing
numbers of people coming from these locations has led to heavy traffic
on the roads.

A female civil
servant, who also declined to be named, said she left her home in
Gwagwalada at 6.30am. “It is accommodation problem,” she said. “We
cannot fly to work; there is hold-up on the road.”

Not just civil servants

Along with civil servants, visitors who came to conduct business at the government offices were also locked out.

Chukwuemeka Onodi,
a pensioner from Enugu State, said he came to register his biometric
information at the Head of Service’s office at the secretariat.

“It is a terrible situation; I never saw this kind of thing while in
service,” he said. “There are other methods of dealing with
latecomers.” Wale Samuel, of the Civil Society Action Coalition on
Education for All (CSACEFA), also condemned the action, calling it
“insensitive.” A visibly furious Mr Samuel said, “Let them go and live
in Nyanya, face AYA holdup then come back and give us the directive.”