Workers shutdown Finance ministry, demand sack of Perm Sec, director

Protesting workers at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, on Monday, shutdown the Ministry for several hours, demanding the sack of the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Mahmood Isa-Dutse and the Director of Finance and Account, Mr. Daniel Garba.

The protesters, who occupied several floors of the sprawling building, caused serious chaotic scenes in the offices and at the gate as visitors were barred from entering the premises.

Some stern looking and heavily armed mobile policemen were drafted to beef up security at the gate and inside the premises.

The protesting workers, who although were properly organised in their protest, chanted several slogans and intermittently accused the duo of treating them like slaves.

One of the protesters said there have been unjustifiable deductions, underpayments and outright refusal to pay them what was due to them, adding the Permanent Secretary and the Director run secret accounts where workers’ money is kept for interest.

One protester specifically accused Mr. Dutse of being “bossy and crafty who should be sacked. He has lost the confidence of the workers. No one trust him.

“The man says something and does another. Yet this is the man that is the Permanent Secretary in an important Ministry like this.

“We don’t want him here. Let him go otherwise a lot of things will go bad. He does not enjoy our support any longer,” he added.

According to the aggrieved workers, Mr. Garba, “must go” for refusing to approve their welfare packages”.

The workers strategically positioned themselves on the offices of both Mr. Dutse and Mr. Garba whose offices were on different floors, chanting “you must go, you must go.”

Our correspondent observed that both Dutse and Garba managed to lock themselves in their offices, thus preventing them from attending crucial meeting that was billed for 11 a.m.

It took the intervention of some senior staff who called the protesting workers to stop as they had made known their demand and all efforts would be towards that.

Both Dutse and Garba could not be reached for comment and all efforts to speak with the Director of Information in the Ministry, Mr. Salisu Danbatta, did not yield positive result as he said he was in a meeting at the time of filing this report.

The Ministry has been rocked with fierce protests, a common occurrence since 2015, as workers in 2016 specifically shutdown the Ministry demanding the removal of the Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun for incompetence and refusal to pay them their deductions.

Although the minister was not accused in the latest protest of any wrong doing, some workers said there are renewed efforts to get her involved for a peaceful settlement of the latest industrial disagreement to avoid an elongated protest that could cost collateral damages.