8th January, 2016
Paul Iyoghojie
Cleaners at Igbosere Magistrates’ court in Lagos, western Nigeria, have appealed to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, to come to their aid by directing their employers to pay them their seven months salary arrears to enable them to survive with their families.
Some of the cleaners who spoke with P.M.NEWS correspondent at the court premises under condition of anonymity said they decided to appeal to Governor Ambode because each time they demanded for their salary their employers would say Lagos State government had not paid them for the services rendered.
On Wednesday when the cleaners in the court stopped work in protest the entire court became dirty, including the toilets that were stinking.
According to one of the cleaners, “is it not man’s inhumanity to man that after working for the
whole year, the only reward from our employers was to abandon us to die of hunger? Because our
salary was not paid, the majority of us drank garri (fried grilled cassava) on Christmas and New Year Day with our families. That is very bad.
“We are now appealing to Governor Ambode to look into our plight before we die of hunger.”
Meanwhile, litigants who throng Igbosere Magistrates’ court daily to attend to their matters have
praised Governor Ambode for his quick response to the infrastructure decay at the
court.
P.M.NEWS had in November 2015 published a story about the infrastructure decay at the court with the caption “Litigants lament infrastructure decay at Igbosere magistrates’ court, Lagos.”
Barely a week after the report, the Governor promptly responded and the cracked tiles on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building as well as the faulty male toilets on the ground floor were fixed.
The facility yet to be rehabilitated are the two faulty lifts.
Mr. Adewale Oni, a litigant, said with the ongoing rehabilitation at the court, Governor Ambode has shown that he is a listening leader.
He urged Lagosians to support him to move Lagos State to another level.