Some federal workers, under the umbrella of the Federal Workers’ Forum (FWF), yesterday began an indefinite nationwide protest in Ibadan, Oyo State, over alleged poor treatment and neglect by the Federal Government.

The protest led to the shutdown of the Federal Secretariat in Ikolaba, Ibadan. The workers carried placards with various inscriptions, demanding better welfare packages from the Tinubu-led administration.

The National Coordinator of the forum, Mr Andrew Emelieze, and the Secretary-General, Mr Itoro Obong, said the strike followed a 21-day ultimatum issued to the government.

The workers are demanding the immediate payment of five-month wage arrears, the implementation of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance, and the settlement of outstanding arrears.

Dozens of federal workers were seen carrying placards with inscriptions such as ‘Pay us five months wage awards, 70k minimum wage is a failure’, ‘Federal workers have suffered enough’, and ‘FG workers live on loans’, among others.

Addressing newsmen, Emelieze alleged that the federal government has been cheating its workforce for years and that workers could no longer endure the hardship. He stated that the indefinite national protest was called because workers could no longer cope with their economic challenges.

Part of the forum’s demands is the immediate payment of the outstanding five-month wage award. He said the government stopped the wage award payment in March 2024, and since then, no federal worker has received any further payments, contrary to government claims that the five-month wage arrears have been settled.

“In addition, we demand the implementation of the 40 per cent peculiar allowance and the payment of its arrears. The 70,000 minimum wage is unacceptable to us; it’s a slave wage. We are rejecting it and calling for its immediate upward review. We also want an immediate review of the heavy taxation on federal workers’ poor wages,” he stated.