Some civil servants, on Thursday, blocked the entrance gate to the Imo State Government House in Owerri.
The protesters, who arrived at the Government House as early as 8 am, stopped vehicles from going in and out of the premises.
The development caused panic at the Government House, as security men manning the exit the gates battled in vain to disperse the protesters.
Armed with their letters of appointments and postings, the civil servants said they were at the Government House to prove to Governor Hope Uzodinma that they were not ‘ghost’ workers.
The governor had said that those, who had yet to receive their salaries up to date, were ‘ghost’ workers.
One of the protesting civil servants, who gave his name simply as Celeb, told journalists that the statement of the governor was “discouraging.”
He said, “We have come to puncture the statement of the governor that those who have not received their salaries up to date are ‘ghost’ workers. That is why we have come with our letters of appointments and postings.
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“We are over 1,000 here and we cut across the local government system, teachers, those in the ministries at the state level and others. There are others, who have not received their salaries in the last year among us here. For me, I have not been paid in the last eight months. It is unfortunate that the governor owes us and he is still lying against us and painting us in bad colours.”
The protesters said they would not leave the Government House entrance gate until they were paid.
Another civil servant, who did not want his name in print, said, “We will resume at 7am here every day going forward until we are paid. I am a secondary school teacher and I have not been paid in the last 12 months. This is the 13th month. Since this governor assumed office, I have only received one month’s salary and that was in January 2020.
“What kind of wickedness is this? What kind of leaders do we have in this country? Do these people think about how we are feeding our families and paying our children’s school fees and other meeting other expenses?”
When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Print Media, Modestus Nwamkpa, promised to get back to our correspondent. He had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
(The Punch)
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