By Abubakar Yunusa
The Global Alliance for Peace and Unity (GAPU) has condemned in strong terms the recent protest by staff of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, describing it as misplaced and harmful to institutional integrity.
The protest, staged by ministry workers, reignited debates about accountability in Nigeria’s public service.
The workers accused the ministry of neglecting their welfare, citing unpaid allowances, lack of work tools, and delays in promotions. Fingers were quickly pointed at the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dr. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, but GAPU stressed the need to separate perception from procedure.
GAPU’s leader, Solomon Pevkyaa, explained that within ministries, overheads such as duty tour allowances, training, and staff welfare are managed by the Permanent Secretary and finance/admin units, who serve as Accounting Officers. The Minister, he clarified, provides policy direction and leadership but does not disburse funds to staff.
“This distinction matters. While workers have every right to protest, misdirecting anger at a minister rather than addressing the civil service management chain risks distracting from the real issues,” Pevkyaa said.
He called for constructive dialogue between staff unions, the Permanent Secretary, and oversight bodies as the proper path to resolving grievances.
While acknowledging the workers’ right to demand better welfare, Pevkyaa faulted the manner in which the protest was carried out, saying civil servants crossed the line when they allegedly harassed the Minister in her office.
“For the sake of peace and unity, people should know when they are crossing the red line,” he warned.
He urged the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to intervene urgently, investigate the matter, and curb what he described as “excesses” within the ministry’s workforce.
According to GAPU, there are always better and more constructive ways to present grievances than staging what it termed an “attack” on a sitting minister.
Beyond the controversy, Pevkyaa pointed out that Dr. Sulaiman-Ibrahim has a proven record of reformist leadership. As former Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), she championed landmark initiatives such as Project Educate All, Project Skill Up, Project Total Health, and Project Zero Hunger, which shifted the Commission’s focus from temporary humanitarian relief to sustainable empowerment. She also pushed through the NCFRMI Act 2022, which strengthened Nigeria’s policy framework for displaced persons and elevated humanitarian response to national development discourse.
Now serving under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, she has carried the same reformist zeal into the Ministry of Women Affairs, driving transformative programmes that promote economic empowerment for women entrepreneurs, structured skills training for girls, and expanded advocacy against gender-based violence. These initiatives, GAPU noted, are reshaping opportunities for women and reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to gender equity and inclusive development.
