Civil Servants Block Entrance to Imo Govt House over Unpaid Salaries
- Civil servants in Imo on Thursday, March 18, came out in their numbers to kick against unpaid salaries
- They even blocked the entrance to the Government House in Owerri, the state capital
- The protesters said they were at the venue with their appointment letters because the state actually employed them
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Aggrieved Imo civil servants who have not been paid salaries for some months took their protest to the gate of Government House on Thursday, March 18.
Punch reports that not less than one thousand of the workers barred the entrance to the building, despite efforts by security agents to stop them.
The protesters, who were said to have converged at the venue as early as 8am, stopped vehicles from getting into the premises and going out from it.
Source: Twitter
This, no doubt, was a recipe for worry among state officials in the complex, as the protesters said they won't leave the entrance until they receive their salaries.
In fact, the workers were seen with their appointment letters in a bid to prove to Governor Hope Uzodinma that they are not ghost workers.
The Nation reports that this protest by the workers came less than one day after about 300 primary and secondary school teachers in the state staged a rally over the non-payment of their salaries.
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One of the protesters who spoke with newsmen lamented:
"We have come to puncture the statement of the governor that those who have not received their salaries update are ghost workers. That is why we have come with our letters of appointments and that of our postings.
“We are over one thousand here. There are others who have not received their salaries in the last one year among us here.
"For me, I have not been paid in the last eight months. It is unfortunate that the governor is owing us and he is still lying against us and painting us in bad colours.”
Another civil servant who is a secondary school teacher said the agreement among his colleagues is that they will come to the venue very early every day until the needful is done.
Meanwhile, the Uzodinma-led administration in Imo state had announced the sacking of 108 workers of the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC).
The government claimed those affected by the decision were illegally employed by the administration of a former governor of the state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics.
Source: Legit.ng
