By Tunde Sholanke

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) Good Home Subscribers Association on Wednesday stormed the street where the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) live to protest delay in resolution of failed housing scheme between the civil servants who subscribed for the land and Good Homes Development Company Limited.

The association also took the protests to the headquarters of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the leadership of which it said even though they are supposed to be at the forefront of the fight for the workers has chosen to keep the matter in abeyance for reasons best known to them.

At the headquarters of NLC the protest almost turned to a free for all as the President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, accused the Chairman of the association of leading thugs to his office in the name of protest.

Chief Anunah, the chairman of the association said issue has lingered for 10 years, stressing that the workers are frustrated after committing close to N1billion to the scheme.

He told journalists that the protesters were forced to go to the Minister’s street after all efforts to engage him through letters and other means of engagements failed.

According to him,they are frustrated because if Federal Government has given the land, and subscribers has paid their money and the Good Homes, which is the vehicles for delivery of the scheme is no longer fit for purpose what stops the government from revoking the land.

He added that the workers invested because Federal Government said come and invest in the scheme, stressing that they did not negotiate with Good Homes.

He stated that at the time when NLC, TUC and the Federal Government ought to step in and protest the rights of the workers they appear to abandoned them and kept the issue in abeyance.

He added:”We are here to demonstrate regarding the NLC, TUC Subscribers Association. This land was given by the federal government in Apo, we have committed close to N1 billion, ten years now, no land, no home and no refunds and then we try to engage the Minister. The Minister has refused to do anything . For the past two years when he set up a Committee.

“That committee we have finished with it and the Minister gave the Permanent Secretary three months, this was two years ago, to complete the conflict resolution mechanism with the developers. And I was a witness to it. Since then, we have not heard anything despite all our efforts to make sure that the needful is done. Nothing has happened”

He stated that the association demands revocation of that land and reallocation to the original subscribers who are members of NLC, TUC Good Home Subscribers Association.

He added:”Our demand is simple, revocation of that land and reallocation to the original subscribers.This is the first housing scheme that federal government came up to support now it has become a scam” he lamented.

By Omobolanle Shosanya

Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation(HCSF), has hinted of rampant cases of sudden deaths among civil servants in the country.

She spoke in Abuja at the commissioning of the Employee Wellness Centre for civil servants,where also said many civil servants suddenly die as a result of work- related diseases that are even preventable.

She said: “We are witnessing a lot of work-related diseases, a lot of sudden deaths.You are sitting down in the office and then, the Director of Human Resources comes and says, mama, somebody has just collapsed in the office.It is not only restricted here in our country. The International Labor Organisation (ILO) estimates that about 2.3 million women and men around the world succumb to work-related accidents or diseases every year.

“According to the Organisation, this
corresponds to 6,000 deaths every single day. The available data also reveals that around 160 million victims of work-related illnesses are recorded annually.It is instructive to know that in the last six months, I have received messages from civil servants and Permanent Secretaries, not less than 10 Permanent Secretaries, who complained to me about one preventable disease or the other.

“They would say they are having excruciating pain in their neck, which they cannot sit down or stand up.This is one of the commonest illnesses that Permanent Secretaries have, after sitting down for so many years working in the office.This disease is preventable. I have also seen cases where civil servants do not know if their blood sugar is high or low.Most of us do not live long after retirement. This is a very sad phenomenon.”

She noted that this pathetic situation of workers necessitated the building and commissioning of the Wellness Centre for them.

This trend,she said,necessitates greater attention to be paid to the health and safety of workers, especially civil servants in the country who are the empirical engine of development and most critical resource of
the nation.

She explained that the establishment of the Employee Wellness Centre within the Federal Secretariat Complex is one of the proactive responses by Government to the critical need of mitigating many preventable medical conditions which have become prevalent in the society.

“For this reason, it is important to emphasize the need for every one of us to seek useful, adequate and accurate information on common health conditions and how to prevent or successfully manage them.

“The need to comprehensively pay attention to our health status is more crucial, especially due to the sedentary nature of our jobs as civil servants coupled with the tendency to be solely committed to the demands of
office and neglecting one’s physical well-being,” she explained.

She implored Ministries,Departments and Agencies(MDAs) to establish their own Wellness Centres, adding that it is expected that Wellness Centres would provide health seminars, mental health counselling and
promotion of regular health screening for early detection of medical conditions for civil servants.