Metro

Street Sweepers Protest Over Four Months Unpaid Salary In Ondo

Published

2 years ago

December 12, 2023

Some women employed as street sweepers in Akure, in Ondo State, have taken to the streets to protest the non-payment of their stipends for the past four months.

The protesters, some of whom are widows, gathered at the Ministry of Environment to express their grievances and issued a warning that they would go on strike if their payments were not promptly made.

Decked in their distinctive green jackets, the women voiced their frustration at the treatment they received from the management of ZL Global Alliances, a private company responsible for waste management and recycling in the state.

They claimed that despite their hard work sweeping the streets, highways, and markets, they have not received their monthly stipend of N10,000.

According to one of the leaders of the protestors, Oluwaseun Ogunniyi, who lamented the predicament of the workers, all affected persons were former staff of the Ondo State Waste Management Board, who were contracted by the ZL Global Alliance since 2019.

“There is no promotion, and we are now being paid N10,000 from the N20,000 we used to collect under the state government. They just started paying us N15,000.

“We close as late as 5pm. I use N1000 per day to and from work and I am a widow. We always complain, but they don’t answer us.”

Bimbo Adekunle, an elderly woman in her late 60s, revealed that they are always at their duty post as early as 4:30am to sweep their portion, stressing that it was tiring not being paid as when due.

Reacting, the Deputy Managing Director of ZL Global Alliance, Tobi Benjamin, said, “We understand the political situation in Ondo State and how some desperate elements struggle to hold on to whatever to score cheap political points.

“However, they should know that we are reputable business concerns and not given to such frivolities. They should therefore stop the attempts at using some of our workers to play their politics.”

Metro

PHOTOS: Retired Police Officers Protest Under Rain At N’Assembly Gate

Published

1 hour ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

Amid rain, some retired police officers on Monday staged a protest at the entrance gate of the National Assembly in Abuja.

The protesters are demanding their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The demonstrators, comprising elderly ex-police personnel, held placards and chanted solidarity songs as they stood in the rain, insisting that their welfare and dignity had been neglected for too long.

Speaking during the protest, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Manir Lawal (retd.) called on the government to exit police retirees from the pension scheme, which he described as exploitative and unjust.

He said, “We are here to ask the government to remove us from the CPS. The pension scheme is exploitative and unjust.

“I am 67 years old. Many of us here are in our 60s and 70s. We have served this country faithfully and deserve to retire in dignity. This scheme has impoverished us. It is our right to demand better,” he said.

Despite the rain, the retirees stood firm, vowing not to leave until their concerns were addressed by the leadership of the National Assembly.

Security operatives were seen monitoring the protest to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

Metro

27-year-old Delta Man Nabbed For Lover’s Death

Published

2 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

The Delta State Police Command has arrested a 27-year-old man, Kelvin Obakpororo, for killing his lover, a mother of two, simply identified as Excellence.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Delta State Command, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this on Sunday in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

He said, “You remember between June 26 and 27, 2025, the social media was awash with the mysterious murder of a girl named Excellence in Sapele, who was murdered by his boyfriend and the father of her two kids.

“The suspect initially escaped but was eventually arreste. He is in the custody of the command.

“For those who are demanding justice for Excellence, we want to inform you that he (the suspected killer) has been arrested and we are assuring you that very soon, he will be arraigned in the court.”

Confessing to the crime, the suspect, Mr Kelvin Obakpororo, lamented that he was under the influence of drugs when he killed her.

“She was doing a hook-up. Whenever she came to my house, she would carry some clothes and change to see another man. So, on that fateful day, she came to my house and we had an argument. She took a knife and I took a hammer.”

After I overpowered her, I used the hammer to hit her on her forehead three times before she fell and died.

“I didn’t know she would die, and it wasn’t my clear eyes. I took 200mg of tramadol. It’s a mistake. I’m so sorry. She had two sons: three and two-year-old sons, for me,” he narrated.

The suspect said he was into pressing (Internet fraud), and regretted killing the mother of his children.
(PUNCH)

Metro

Pension Protest: Sowore Leads Retired Policemen To Force HQ

Published

2 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Editor

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore on Monday led a protest to the Force Headquarters in Abuja over poor welfare and pension conditions affecting serving and retired police officers.

The protest, organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Union of Retired Police Officers, demanded urgent pension reforms and called for the removal of police personnel from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The aggrieved protesters, who were initially denied entry into the Force Headquarters, were later escorted by police officers as they proceeded to the National Assembly complex.

Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Decent Salaries Now,” “End Police Slavery,” “Pensions for Police Officers,” “Dignity for Those in Uniform,” and “CPS is a death sentence,” the demonstrators insisted that the current pension system is unjust and dehumanising.

The retired officers had earlier vowed to picket the National Assembly in a renewed push for legislative intervention in what they described as a prolonged neglect of their welfare.

Details later…