HoS Wades Into Science Ministry Workers Face-off With Permanent Secretary

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) has waded into the ongoing face-off between the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Amina Shamaki, and workers in the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The ministry workers under the Joint Union Council had during a protest last week Thursday urged the HoSF, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, to redeploy the permanent secretary over unpaid allowances.

Last December, the workers have also held a protest where they demanded the redeployment of the permanent secretary.

The Chairman of the Union, Christian Usino, said after the protest that the leadership of the workers were invited into a meeting with the minister and the Head of Service.
He stressed that though the workers have relaxed the protest, they have insisted the permanent secretary must be redeployed.

According to Usino, “We have relaxed the protest, but we are waiting for the outcome of our meeting with the HoSF, Oyo-Ita, and the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.”

Continuing, he noted that “the protest was necessitated in the first place because our rights were being encroached upon. So, our demand was for her to go and they have assured us that she is going. She has to leave us; we don’t need her kind of person. She doesn’t give us our rights such as staff welfare and other necessary demand of the staff. In fact, there are a lots things that make up this welfare I mentioned, and she also denies us departmental projects that actually promote the image of the ministry.”

Since her appointment as permanent secretary in the federal public service in October 2014, Shamaki has served in different five ministries.