Federal Unity Schools Strike Has Been Called Off

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of
Nigeria (ASCSN) has suspended the 4 weeks
oldstrike action in the Federal Ministry of
Education just as it called for the removal of
the Permanent Secretary, Mr. MacJohn
Nwaobiala.

In a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend
and signed by its Secretary-General, Comrade
Alade Bashir Lawal, the Union stated that the
suspension of the industrial action followed the
release of the sum of N527,643,444.00 (five
hundred and twenty-seven million, six hundred
and forty-three thousand, four hundred and
forty-four naira) by the Federal Government
which is now being used to pay the 1st batch of
the promotion arrears to the staff of the
Federal Ministry of Education.

“Besides, there have been appeals by well-
meaning Nigerians including the Honourable
Members of the House of Representatives
Committee on Public Service Matters who met
with the Union and the Management of the
Federal Ministry of Education on Thursday
17th October, 2014 in Abuja and emphasized
the need for the Ministry to pay its staff all
their outstanding entitlements,” the statement
added.

On the call for the removal of the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr.
Nwaobiala, the ASCSN Secretary-General
pointed out that the negative attitude of the
Permanent Secretary towards the welfare of
the Ministry’s workers and the ignoble role he
played by treating welfare issues with
levity provided the ingredients that fuelled the
industrial action.
He emphasized that if the Permanent Secretary
had done the needful, all the allowances, many
of which have been outstanding since 2007
would have been paid.
“Persistent strikes in the Education sector have
more than confirmed that the Permanent
Secretary has lost his bearing and as such, the
best option for the Government is to post him
out of the Federal Ministry of Education before
he completely destroys the sector,”
the Statement added.
According to the Association’s Secretary-
General, a task force made up of
representatives of the Federal Ministry of
Labour and Productivity, the Association of
Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the Federal
Ministry of Education has been set up to
ensure that the N1.7 Billion needed to complete
the payment of promotion arrears and other
allowances are released by the Budget Office of
the Federation.

Part of the Agreement signed by the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and
Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh, the Secretary-
General, Association of Senior Civil Servants of
Nigeria, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal and Dr.
M.B. Umar, Director (Human Resource
Management), Federal Ministry of Education,
reads: “the outstanding sum of N1.7 Billion
which covers the balance of 2007 to 2010
Promotion Arrears, the supplementary
Promotion Arrears for 2011, Promotion Arrears
for 2012, outstanding salaries for
newly employed and re-instatement allowance,
will be paid immediately the sum of N1.7
Billion is released to the Federal Ministry of
Education by the Budget Office of the
Federation”.

“The sum of N25 million will be set aside by
the Ministry monthly (with effect from
September, 2014) to offset other Allowances
owed members of staff,” the statement added.
The Association’s chief scribe explained that
these other allowances include the 1st 28 days
in lieu of hotel accommodation, Duty Tour
Allowance, 2010 Mandatory Training Allowance,
Burial Expenses Allowance, FTC Course
Allowance, Repatriation Allowance, etc.
It will be recalled that on Friday 19th October,
2014, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of
Nigeria called out its teeming members at the
Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of
Education, the Federal Inspectorate Offices and
the 104 Federal Unity Colleges on strike to
press home its demands for the payment of the
above entitlements and allowances.

The strike action paralyzed activities at the
Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of
Education, the Federal Inspectorate Offices and
the 104 Federal Unity Colleges.