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| Picture of some of the sacked workers protesting in Adamawa state. |
Some sacked workers of Adamawa State Government protesting alleged non-payment of their 10 Months outstanding salary on Monday in Yola (10/2/20). 00840/10/2/2020/Anthony Alabi/ICE/NAN
From Onimisi Alao, Yola
Aggrieved workers in Adamawa State, who have been battling the government for their unpaid salaries, have accused security agencies of supporting the government against them.
The aggrieved persons held a protest on Monday, insisting they are genuine civil servants, and demanded payment of their unpaid 10-month’ salaries.
The protest was however stopped as the police mobilised by dawn and occupied the Police Roundabout, House of Assembly Complex and the Government House Junction, the exact spots the workers had chosen to stage their protest.
The protesters, however, gathered some metres from the police roundabout and addressed reporters.
Their leader, Faisal Baba, said: “The security agencies in Adamawa State have conspired with the government. This is mischief. They mobilised with their armoured tanks and occupied all our routes as if we were going for war.
“We are not going to war; we are only out to challenge the injustice that was done to us. The governor has refused to pay our 10-month’ salaries, and now he has sent security agents to block us from complaining. We listened to the elite who advised us to withdraw from this protest to avoid deaths and the rest. But we will continue to pursue this until justice is done.”
But Commissioner of Police Suleiman Nguroje, who denied the allegations, said they advised the estranged workers against the protest because of security and public safety.
He said: “We deployed our personnel to see that nobody is molested. The police will not prevent anybody from exercising their fundamental human rights. The police presence was about protecting everyone who participated.”
The Jibrilla Bindow-led government had employed Faisal and his colleagues, whose number Faisal now estimates to be 10,000, close to the end of its tenure, but the Ahmadu Fintiri-led government condemned the employment, and has not paid them for once.
Governor Fintiri set up an investigative panel which denounced their fate, and the State Executive Council (SEC), penultimate Wednesday, said the civil service never recognised them. They, could, however, seek fresh employment within the service.
