As civil servants are owed multiple months arrears worth of salaries, an intern of the Ministry of Finance Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) has revealed that the graduates under the scheme are owed 5 months worth of allowances.

In an open letter addressed to “The Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF)”, Ori Benjamin, the secretary of the interns called the attention of the Ministry to the unfair treatment meted out by the scheme.

Read the letter below.

Dear Minister,

I trust this meets you well. I deem it pertinent to write to you on behalf of interns of the FMF Graduate Internship Scheme, GIS. This laudable scheme was launched in October, 2012 to create opportunity for graduates to be attached to firms/organizations, where they can work for a year and enjoy a monthly stipend while they gain working experience and enhance their employability.

On this present administration’s assumption of office, we heard rumors that the scheme might be scrapped but as it is today, it is still alive but badly battered and almost comatose as a result of perceived poor management.

Interns are entitled to #30.000 monthly stipends but we hardly get paid despite the fact that we have fulfilled our part of the contract- working for our “employers” and clearance timesheets duly signed and submitted by our employers to FMF GIS. As I write to you, we are being owed over five months stipends.

Despite the fact that our payment is irregular, we still carryout our responsibilities with our “employers” who don’t seem to care if we are paid or not as they insists we report to work everyday, some; even on weekends. They don’t care how we mange to resume work everyday nor, care to supplement the never-coming stipends from FMF GIS.

With the sharp rise in the cost of living in the country, we can no longer bear this. We can not continue suffering in the name of interning while no income peeps at our wallet. We have borrowed thousands of naira to enable us survive and go to work but apparently our source for funds with which we use to fulfill our part of the contract is now frowning at us.

Please, Honorable Minister; is the FMF Graduate Internship Scheme still existing? If yes, why aren’t we paid our stipends? Or we have simply been forgotten while some “Ogas” in Abuja stuff their belly with our little peanuts?

Ordinarily, as the month ends, we ought to expect bank alert like every other worker under the federal ministry of finance but we often hope in vain. The month of May ends next week Tuesday, are we still going to hope in vain?

Thank you for your time as we anticipate your response through bank alerts, possibly all the backlog.

Signed.

Ori Benjamin

Secretary Lagos GIS Interns.