There was pandemonium recently as sanitation workers from the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area staged a peaceful protest for what they called “the inability of the council to pay their backlog of salaries”.
The protesters numbering over one hundred and fifty (150) persons mainly consisted of females (road sweepers) barricaded the office of the Mayor shouting and chanting war songs “We no go gree o, we no go gree, Mayor come pay us” amongst several others.
Later the women in their large numbers moved to the two entrance of the Phalga council and shut down the council gates, preventing visitors and staff to access the entrance. The gates were shutdown for hours which paralyzed the administrative activities of the Phalga council.
One of the protesters, who identified herself as Mrs. Amadi told our correspondent “that in the past seven (7) months no salary for them and that their children are suffering.
Another protester who simply gave her name as Madam Grace Dike, said that “my brother dem never pay us since the only money wey dem go pay us na just ten thousand naira (10,000) every month but e don reach seven (7) months we never see anything, na God go punish them”, she said in anger.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Stella Odum who claimed to be the leader of the protesters lamented bitterly that the council is insensitive to their plight, “my brother look at us, we don’t sleep well at night, we wake up by 3.00am till 6.00am sweeping daily and at the end they are telling us ugly stories, afterall how much is our salaries. Its just ten thousand (10,000) naira each per month, make God punish them”.
Also another protester hinted our reporter that they have complained to the Mayor about their salaries severally but it all fell on deaf ears, “Now see na! we no get money for house, make them pay us, if not we go naked for them oo”.
However, information had it that the council is owing the road sweepers up to N21m which cover seven (7) months unpaid salaries. ###
