Protesting workers in the Ministry of Works have locked the minister, Dave Umahi, inside his office on Thursday morning.

The workers, who accused Umahi of highhandedness, adding that the minister prevented workers who were late to work from gaining access to the ministry.

The union members comprising the Housing and Works Ministry decided to lock up the ministry.

The workers also blocked entry and exit into the building thereby preventing the minister from leaving the office premises.

They also claimed that Umahi “stopped engineers and directors from doing their work, and has been breaking public service rules since his appointment, by bringing in consultants to run the affairs of the ministry”

A union official, Williams Kudi, told AIT that the minister has refused to grant them an audience to express their concerns.

The minister and his aides could not be reached as at the time of writing this report.