An unfriendly atmosphere is currently pervading the family of the Imo State Teachers House Owerri along Port Harcourt road, Owerri, as the relationship between the Imo State NUT Chairman Dr Cletus Okeke and his staff has degenerated to that of the cat and mouse.
The strained relationship came to the fore when the chairman Dr Okeke was packaging himself for the post of the vice chairman of the State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) which he eventually won alongside comrade Austin Chilakpu who vied for the post of chairmanship and also won.
The NUT Staff at the Teachers House are still angry that their principal denied them the little largesse they would have gotten as NLC delegates at the just concluded conference at the Hero Square, New Owerri. Dr Okeke who had not kept good relationship with his staffers got early information that they were not going to vote for him and quickly directed the NUT secretary Dr Reginal Anyadike to drop them as delegates.
Our source said the staff are no more comfortable with their boss whom they said remembering meeting him on a work day makes them sick. “I wonder why he (Dr Okeke) does not want to retire as he continuously changes his retirement dates every six months”, a clerical staff queried. Another lady who claims to have connections at the Government House Owerri, threatened to draw the attention of the Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha immediately after the forthcoming inauguration ceremony this month.
When Trumpeta visited the Teachers House, the edifice erected by the elders of the union is now a shadow of itself. The roofs are leaking, the entire now compound has patches of waterlog as a result of potholes the entire environment is dirty showcasing lack of maintenance.
On stepping into the Teachers House premises on e may be tempted to ask so many questions.
What is the Landlord/Tenant relationship between Dr Okeke, Rhas group and LEEP? What has been happening to the tenancy rates paid by these tenants?
Meanwhile, Staff of the Teachers House have commended the Trumpeta Newspaper for its incisive reportage and promised to keep the paper abreast with happenings at the Teachers House until certain wrongs are remedied.
