By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to pay January salaries to the six Area Council.
President of the Union, Abdullahi Kabir during a press briefing in Abuja, on Monday,
demanded the immediate release of funds for the payment or risk a statewide industrial action.
He lamented the continued non-payment of salaries to workers of the Kuje Area Council, describing the situation as unacceptable and inhumane.
The union’s leader disclosed that Kuje remains the only area council yet to receive its allocation for salary payments, despite the disbursement of monthly allocations to other councils.
Kabir said the delay has subjected workers and their families to hardship, saying many affected families have resorted to borrowing, begging, and other desperate measures to survive, while some schoolchildren have reportedly been sent home over unpaid fees.
He explained that repeated efforts to ascertain the cause of the delay have yielded no results, as officials responsible for the release of funds have attributed the problem to unresolved technical issues lingering for over two weeks.
The President expressed concern over what he described as the troubling trajectory of the FCTA’s handling of workers’ welfare.
He questioned why workers who have diligently carried out their duties are being denied their statutory entitlements? Stressing that salaries are first-line charges and not privileges to be delayed arbitrarily.
In addition, Kabir disclosed that its planned action has the full awareness and backing of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the national leadership of the union.
He warned that failure by the FCTA to release the funds within 72 hours would compel NULGE to embark on an industrial action across all six area councils of the FCT.
“An injury to one is an injury to all,” the union declared, insisting that workers deserve to be paid promptly for their labour and that the current situation must not be allowed to persist.
