About 1,400 staff of the Ministry of Defence have cried out over the non-payment of their salaries and entitlements by the Federal Government for two years now.
But in a swift reaction, the Ministry of Defence has debunked the story. According to the Director of Press of the Ministry, Mr. Shehu Maike, what is delaying their payment is the ongoing verification exercise embarked upon to reabsorb them into the ministry.
Stressing that most of the claims were false, some of the staff who declined to give their names for fear of being sanctioned by the ministry, disclosed that they were employed by the Federal Civil Service Commission since 2010.
Some of them who tagged themselves as: “Newly Absorbed/Employed Staff, Ministry of Defence Headquarters,” said they were employed in May while others received their employment letters in July of that same year 2010.
They noted that till date, none of them had received any entitlement from the ministry, and neither had their employment been reviewed, even after six months, as it is the norm in the civil service.
According to them, following their appointment in May, they concluded their documentation in the first week of November.
LEADERSHIP was however able to obtain some copies of the letter of temporary appointment which emanated from the Recruitment Department of the Federal Civil Service Commission and signed by Innocent K. Ogbonnaya for the chairman of the Commission, for one of the staff, dated 14th July 2010.
The concluding part of the letter read, “You should ensure that this offer of appointment is regularised within a period of six months from the date of assumption of duty. For the regularisation of appointment, you need to supply originals of your credentials and medical certificate of fitness.”
The newly absorbed staff who said they were tired of the situation have applied to the office of the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command on the 7th of last month, for a two-day permit to carry out a peaceful protest to press home their demand for emoluments and allowances which have not been paid since their assumption of duty in November 2010.