By Okey Alozie
Except urgent measures are taking by the Senator Hope Uzodinma administration to appease civil servants in Imo State, his administration is gradually receiving knocks from the work force over failure to pay salaries and slashing of payments.
Workers in the state have started raining abuses on the Imo State government over the decision of Uzodinma administration to engage in unpleasant practices against them.
Despite promising to be paying workers salaries before 25th of every month, Trumpeta has it on good authority that apart from non- payment, those who manage to receive money got either half salaries or slashed payments that do not reflect their entire salary packages.
As a result, the affected civil servants have started cursing the Uzodinma administration of “Sharing poverty” instead of “Shared prosperity.
Our reporter who spoke to cross section of workers from the Imo State House of Assembly observed that curses were rained at the government for allegedly deducting monies from their salaries resulting to half payment.
A junior staff of the Assembly who doesn’t want his name in print for fear of victimization told Trumpeta that the Uzodinma government wants to return them to the Okorocha era when they suffered untold hardship and resorted to complaints after each salary payment.
According to majority of the staff, “their salaries were slashed and nothing tangible was paid again unlike what we received during the immediate past administration.
“Unlike what we received before now, this Uzodinma administration is punishing us with non- payment and slashed salaries. After starving us in the heat of the Covid-19 lockdown, he now refused to pay full salary as those who received their salaries have it slashed”, a union leader of Imo Assembly told Trumpeta on Thursday.
At the state secretariat on Portharcourt Road and State Judiciary, the story remained same as workers lamented of either non -payment or slashed salaries.
Trumpeta learnt that some government parastatals are yet to get any alert after five months.
Investigations revealed that workers of Imo Marketing, and Tourism are yet to be paid even as a reasonable percent of Imo State University and Imo State Polytechnic staffers are yet to see alert since February 2020 because they are paid through their Micro Finance banks.
Our reporter who was at the Accountant General’s office in Owerri noticed that not less than 200 staffer of Imo Poly stormed the place to find out why they have been excluded from payment by the Uzodinma administration.
Most of those spotted at the Accountant General’s office wore forlorn looks while raining curses on the state government for the starvation meted on them through non- payment of salaries. According to their letter;
“We are law abiding citizens of the State working in the Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo.
“We are here sir, to register our complaint about non-payment of our March and April 2020 Salaries which have been received by other staff of the institution. We found it necessary to come and register our complaint because the management of our institution has affirmed to us that they are already overwhelmed with the situation. This is because all what the government demanded from them before now for these payments to be made, to the omitted staff especially those whose pay points are at the IMOPOLY MicroFinance Bank and Nwannegadi MicroFinance Bank, Orlu has proved futile and abortive. There are also others in other commercial banks like UBA and others not paid.
“It is also worthy to mention that staff of IMOPOLY are owed March and April 2018 salaries as well as February 2020 and there doesn’t seem to be any arrangement for these payments till date.
“May we also inform you sir that about four (4) key officers of our great institution today are in the mortuary awaiting burial. Some of us here represent families where we nave parades, brothers, wives and other relatives to carter for, for which is the principal reason why we picked appointment to work and generate more co rake care of them.
“Today we have some of these our family members lying critically ill in various hospitals in the state and we need to save their lives by using part of salaries to do so. Some of us are also very sick and have had various tribulations from our landlords as well as our creditors.
“We are here because we are aware that the State Government has declared that some institutions and establishments in the state have many ghost workers milking from the State Treasury. Sir, we are here to affirm that we are not ghost workers and therefore demand that our salaries should be paid accordingly as done to others.
“Our mission cannot be complete without appreciating the good efforts of the government to make things work better for the State. We implore you Sir, to use your good office to look deeply into our situation and get us paid all arrears of salaries and subsequent ones to come”.
