The number of former political appointees in Imo State owed salaries and necessary entitlements seem to be swelling by the day as those who served under the incumbent State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and were recently relieved of their duties have joined the list of unpaid political appointees.
It would be recalled that apart from denying those who served his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, their entitled severance allowances, the Okorocha administration shunned payments for the April and May 2011 salaries of former Commissioners, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants of the Chief Ikedi Ohakim.
While aggrieved ex-appointees are still in various courts demanding for the payments, those who few months ago, were part of the Rescue Mission government, before they were sent packing, are at the receiving end now of the Governor’s dislike for payment of statutory entitlements to political appointees.
Worse hit are former commissioners and political appointees under various categories who were recently affected by the mass purge that hit the state executive council in July. The Governor’s former aides are lamenting the non-payment of July 2013 salaries by the State Government. Having served and were in their various offices serving the Governor and the State till they were relieved of their positions middle of July, the former appointees expected to be paid the July salary. However, to their greatest amazement, the July salary was paid without the affected persons getting alert from the banks via the ministry.
Trumpeta learnt that three months after, nothing has entered their purse from Government as salary for the month of July. It was learnt that the affected ex-appointees had kept mute over the matter hoping they would be re-appointed. It was gathered that when some of the commissioners and appointees went to their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) for their respective July salaries, no positive response was received prompting them to channel their requests to Government House, where the Accounts Department disclosed that no such directive was extended to the unit for such payments.
For fear of victimization and risk of losing re-appointment, the former appointees were playing “hide and seek” game with the demand for the outstanding July salary until recently when it dawned on some of them that their chances of returning to the state exco is remote.
Apart from the outstanding July salary, the ex-appointees especially the former commissioners are begrudging the Governor for half payment of furniture allowance. Trumpeta reliably learnt that the sacked commissioners were only paid half of their entitled furniture on the premise that they would get full entitlements if re-appointed after the next dissolution or completes the four-year tenure. The sacked Commissioners expressed that the half-payment of severance allowance to them is contradictory and runs foul of the stipulated entitlements due to a political appointee of that cadre.
It was further gathered that the first set of Commissioners who served under Okorocha from 2011, but were shoved aside later like Ejike Uche, Enwerem (Ukwu Ose) and Nelson Ezerioha suffered similar fate as they were denied merited payments.
Trumpeta observed that while requesting for some entitled payments and severance allowances, they were tricked into producing their official vehicles before payment which the surrendered but never got the payments till date.
Efforts to reach Okorocha’s aide for confirmation on this matter proved abortive.
Sequel to the inability of the Imo State House of Assembly to screen mainly the old Commissioner nominees at the commencement of their screening Monday October 14th, palpable fear has gripped some of them as they appear today at the panel.
Impeccable source has it that while some of them besiege the Speaker, Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu and other officers of the Legislature, others have taken to the native doctors for intercession in their matter.
It will be recalled that the State House of Assembly has deferred the screening of the nominees from Monday, October 14th to Thursday October 17th following barrage of petitions against the nominees.
The situation which jolted members of the screening committee prompted their deferment of the screening to enable them go through the various petitions before them.
Baring all odds, it is expected that the affected nominees will know their faith today as the screening resumes at the State Legislature.
