‘This is not a state, sir. This is the civil service. There are processes’, Union leader lectures Minister Umahi

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has been told to respect civil servants and follow the laid down rules of the civil service.

In a meeting called to settle the melee that followed the locking out of the workers of the ministry on Thursday on the orders of the minister, the workers’ Union leader, Kuti Williams, frankly told the former governor that he could not do the work without the civil servants.

He said Umahi needed to respect the civil servants, adding that before locking out the workers, he ought to have sent out a memo drawing the attention of the workers to their observed lapses.

He said after that, any worker who defaults would be issued a query.

“You need to respect us in the first place. It is a must that you respect us. Secondly, you need to carry us along. You cannot do this work alone. And you cannot import workers from elsewhere to do this work for us. It is not possible. So what we want is total respect.

“You don’t just come and say ‘lock the gate’. Sir, with due respect, this is not state. This is a federal ministry.”

In his response, the minister said his intention was not for them to ne locked out. He said when he came to the office at 9:30 am, he found that only 5 per cent of the staff were in their offices and so he told the human resources manager to assemble all the staff at the gate for him to address them.

He said he needed the workers as much as they needed him. At that, the mob protested that they did not need him. He agreed with them so he could continue his speech.

In the end, the two parties resolved their differences and they returned to their offices.