Workers of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SureP/FERMA Federal Task Force today in Ikeja, Lagos  protested against the fraudulent extortion of money from them by the some executives of the programme. The protesters carried placards, singing and chanting solidarity songs round Ikeja, GRA.


They workers named their National co-ordinator, Alhaji Abdurazak Rafiu ,Chief Bode George the Empowerment Co-ordinator, Senator Ogunlewe and others as  being responsible subjecting them to such dehumanized condition and extorting money from them..

According them, the co-ordinators of the Federal Task Force SureP/FERMA programme in Lagos mandated them to pay outrageous sums before they were employed for the job. Three years after employment and resumption of duties they are yet to be paid.

The protesters disclosed that at the commencement of the programme in Lagos in 2013, applicants were made to pay the sum of N32,500 each for uniform while additional N5,000 was paid for the procurement of the SURE-P forms and forms where picked at the residence of Chief Bode George. They also disclosed that since the programme commenced, none of the workers had been paid any amount of money as salaries.

Thy explained that on commencement, they were promised that they would be trained in recognised institutions in the country, but lamented that till date, no form of training had been organised for them, instead those  workers in traffic management department were used for political rallies whenever any prominent government official was in the state, adding that the management was using the avenue to exploit desperate job seekers.


They protesters maintained that, "The whole exercise is a fraud. We were just exploited by some people in the name of Federal Government project." They vowed to continue their protest till the Presidency pays them their arrears.  NHRC received their protest letter.