The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited the leadership of the Federal Workers Forum (FWF) following their involvement in recent nationwide protests demanding unpaid wage awards and improved welfare for federal employees.
The protests, which began in Ibadan on April 22 under the campaign banners #FederalWorkersProtest, #OccupyFederalSecretariat, and #ShutDownAllFederalSecretariat, were led by Comrade Andrew Emelieze, National Coordinator of the FWF and former Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Oyo State.
In a statement on Tuesday, Emelieze confirmed the invitation by the DSS and said the group would honour it.
“We are not in any way intimidated, we have no regrets and if we have to do it again, we will not hesitate,” he said. “We have no apologies and we remain committed to freeing our people from servitude.”
The DSS notice was made public, alongside Emelieze’s declaration that their actions were in the public interest.
“We shall proceed to honour the invitation with profound conviction that we have a just cause,” he said.
He also urged members of the forum and the public to remain vigilant. “We are informing all members of the Federal Workers Forum, the public and the mass media to take note in case things come up the other way. We will never be intimidated. All that we have said and done is in the open and it is in the public interest, justice and humanity. Our voices must be heard,” Emelieze stated.
The FWF had declared an indefinite protest last week over the non-payment of five months’ wage awards by the federal government. The strike began at the federal secretariat in Ibadan, with hundreds of workers participating.
During the demonstration, Emelieze and the FWF Secretary General, Comrade Itoro Obong, told journalists that the protest followed the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum issued to the federal government without any response.
“As earlier agreed, we the federal workers in Nigeria commence an indefinite protest nationwide today, 22nd April, 2025, to press home our demands for justice for federal government workers in Nigeria,” they said.
(The Guardian)
