The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN)says frequent protests by the federal employees over unpaid entitlements constitute embarrassment to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Conveying this in a press statement, ASCSN Secretary-General, Comrade Joshua Apebo, also faulted the forceful dispersal of protesting workers at the Federal Ministry of Finance on Monday.
The union lamented that it had consistently submitted memoranda on the unpaid entitlements to the Federal Government for over ten years without fruitful result.
It emphasized the need for the government to urgently clear arrears owed workers.
“These entitlements include but are not limited to salary arrears, promotion and elongation arrears, first 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation, duty tour allowances, payment of allowances to Education Officers displaced from Unity Schools in the North-East, vacancies arising from the disarticulation of Junior Secondary Schools, and the regularization of PTA teachers’ appointments,” Apebo disclosed in the statement.
It recalled that resolutions from annual meetings of chairmen of the 110 Federal Unity Schools, including the Federal Education Quality Assurance Service (FEQAS), were forwarded to the Ministry of Education, with an ultimatum issued in January 2025 for the implementation of the demands
The union also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to immediately provide financial backing for the payments.
The union also recounted its historical struggles, including resisting the attempted privatization of Unity Schools under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, which was halted in 2010 after sustained protests and legal action.
It further reiterated the need for the restoration of gratuity payments to public servants, which were inexplicably stopped in 2004 despite the Pension Reform Act not abolishing them.
“Certainly, a trade union that has worked tirelessly over the decades to protect the interests of its members cannot be linked to any mischievous attempt by a few misguided staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance to impede the union’s legitimate demands,” the ASCSN added.
