AEPB casual workers hold Director, staff hostage

 

No fewer than 40 casual workers of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), on Monday morning, barricaded the entrance gate of the head office of the board located at the Central Business District, Abuja, to protest against non-payment of their wages.

The workers, who had gathered outside the gate at about 8a.m., refused to allow the Director of the board, Issa Shuaib, and the staff to move out of the office premises.


They sang various songs of protest to press home their demand.

One of the protesters, who stripped himself naked, said it was disheartening that AEPB treated them this way.
Another casual worker who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the board had not been paying their salaries for the last four months, despite the services they had been rendering.

"We were recruited as Enforcement Squad of the AEPB last year July and were trained at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Kubwa. The board gave us a black T. Shirt uniform and we were deployed to various parts of the FCT to arrest anyone who engages in street trading and other activities contrary to the law of the board," he explained.

"This year, we got the information that the director wanted to lay us off and in the bid to perfect that, he refused to pay us our pay. We have had series of meetings with him during which he promised to pay us, even if we have to go, but all to no avail."

He called on the FCT minister, Senator Bala Muhammed, to come to their rescue.
However, when contacted on telephone, the Head of Information of the AEPB, Joe Okairo, refused to comment on the issue. Instead, he asked the reporter to come inside the office.


Source: Daily Times