Lagos — FOREIGN Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe yesterday locked out hundreds of his staff out of the ministry's premises for reporting late for work.

An eyewitness informed Vanguard that on arrival at the ministry's headquarters in Abuja, some minutes past 8.00 a.m., the minister ordered the security men on duty to lock all the entry points to the premises.

According to the eyewitness, the minister directed that nobody should be allowed in until he said so, irrespective of rank or status.

Given the official resumption time of 8.00 a.m., Maduekwe was reported to have been enraged by the fact that on arrival on the premises there were no lift attendants and only a fraction of staff were present in the ministry.

Vanguard investigation further discovered that the minister addressed the staff afterwards, condemning the poor attitude civil servants had towards punctuality.

According to Chief Maduekwe, "in view of the nation's growth plans, lateness would no longer be tolerated by this administration.

"Nations could only advance with discipline and such tardiness wasn't a mark of discipline."

He added that though he was aware of the challenges facing civil servants in Abuja, as regards transportation and power, he emphasized that it was not strong excuse to come to the office late.

Vanguard further gathered that the Minister proposed to set up a Forum for discussion to enable the ministry, find solutions to the problems of the staff.

This according to the investigation, Ojo said would help to foster his plan to run a transparent administration.

Meanwhile, a number of foreign affairs staff who did not disclose their names, were not impressed by the Minister's actions.

According to them, though the resumption time was 8am, the gates were locked within the permitted

30 minutes grace period.

They further revealed that the Minister was not leading by example considering he rarely resumed duties earlier than 12pm.