By Peter Uzoma
It was a tinge of drama at the Freedom Square Owerri, on Tuesday, as the Imo State pensioners converged for a take-off of another round of street protest with the determination to occupy the Government House, Owerri at all cost.
At the peak of concluding their strategies, showers of rain started and they retired to the stands to wait for the showers to subside while still discussing modalities to penetrate the gates since that day was the last date of the one week ultimatum they gave the Uzodinma-led government to pay their allowances or have the Govt House occupied.
Suddenly, the subject of discussion changed as bank alerts started coming into the pensioners phones–“have you received, yes, no, I have, heeh! I have received again” rented the air.
When what looked like mixed feelings died down, the leader of the Pensioners Intervention Committee (PIC), Comrade Iyke Ohaneje summoned the retirees again for continuation of their deliberations just as the drizzling had stopped.
It was finally decided that all should go home to reconvene Tuesday next week for a reassessment and possibly next line of action.
In an interview, Comrade Ohaneje told Trumpeta that there was nothing to rejoice about since the backlog owed is nothing to write home about. According to him, “the Uzodinma administration is owing us the months of March, April, May and June, so these alerts for which months are they”?
He recalled that the Ihedioha government owed about two months just as Okorocha’s administration owed a staggering total of fifty-two months wondering why one should jump up for an alert of an unidentified one month.
Meanwhile, Trumpeta understands that the pensioners as converging again on 14/7/2020 for continuation of their protest. Pensioners in the state had embarked on street protests on two occasions with the final one targeted at taking over Govt House, Owerri before alerts stopped them from further push.
