The Ministry of Finance has issued a statement over the protest by civil servants of the the ministry, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Budget and National Planning ministry on Monday.

The protesters demanded “unpaid N1.2 billion special overtime allowances," as well as several other welfare packages, they felt was their right.

 The Ministry however said the allowances they are demanding are not known to the law. Spokesperson for the ministry, Salisu Dambatta, said the joint protest was unwarranted.

“The management wishes to state as follows: The payment of what the protesting staff called a special overtime, SOT, was stopped by the last administration in 2014 on the ground that it was not listed in any extant government Circular, Financial Regulations or the Public Service Rules.” he said in a statement.

Besides, the N1.2 billion claims computed by the staff union for payment could not have been budgeted for in 2016 in the first place, not only because of the paucity of funds, but also because the SOT allowance was not part of the remuneration in the federal public service, he said.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, do not individually or collectively, owe any of their personnel their salaries.

“In view of the foregone, the Management of the Federal Ministry of Finance wishes to categorically state that the protests have no justifiable grounds,” Mr. Dambatta said.