No fewer than 100 primary and secondary school teachers in Rivers State, on Friday, staged a protest at the Government House in Port Harcourt over alleged exclusion from the N100,000 Christmas bonus approved for civil servants by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The protesters alleged that other civil servants in the State have received theirs along with their December 2023 salaries, but wondered why they did not benefit from the largesse.
Prior to the Yuletide holidays, Governor Fubara had approved the bonus for each civil servant, eliciting jubilation from the workers and their unions namely the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the State.
But on Friday, the aggrieved teachers, who occupied the Government House, expressed displeasure over the development and called on the government to address the exclusion.
One of the teachers identified simply as Oke said: “We were so happy when we heard that the governor approved a N100,000 Christmas bonus for all civil servants. So we assumed that the last Christmas was going to be very great for us.
“But as we speak today, this is January, a few of us as you can see have not received the Christmas bonus.
“On Monday, schools will be resuming. Most of us travelled and we have returned.
“We have exhausted all we have. So we are here this morning to register our complaints to our dear loving governor to help us talk to those who are holding our Christmas bonus.
“Our N100,000 Christmas bonus should be released because it will go a long way in cushioning the effect of the hardship especially in this January.”
Others who spoke, accused their banks and the State Universal Basic Education Board of failing to address the matter.
An official of the government, who addressed the protesting teachers, commended them for their peaceful conduct, promising that their complaints would be looked into.