.As Middle Class Workers Protest Over Sharing Formula
By Okey Alozie
The flag off of distribution of palliatives brought by the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma to Imo Workers on Wednesday evening is said to have hit the rocks at the State Secretariat Complex located along Owerri Portharcourt road Imo State.
Information revealed that there was serious crisis at the Secretariat shortly after the flag off of the distribution of Bags of rice and vegetable oil.
The Governor as we gathered left the State Secretariat around 6pm and told the workers that the least person will get atleast 10kg of rice.
He therefore dropped the template and directed that every worker must get the rice and vegetable as a palliative measure to cussion the effect of hunger and fuel subsidy removal.
We gathered that the workers suspected a foul play when Ministries were given four bags of rice each and two cartons of vegetable oil only.
This sharing formula in that evening of Wednesday was not acceptable to majority of Civil Servants mainly the middle class officers and because of that they revolted and attempted to loot the palliative material. Some workers from Ministry of Environment were physically seen fighting. Some women were also seen dragging the rice with heads of Departments.
Our roving reporter observed that there was confusion everywhere that evening after the Governor had left.
A middle aged woman who came for the rice and vegetable distribution was said to have been knocked down by hit and run driver as she was trying to cross the road to enter State Secretariat Complex that night.
Even in the morning of Thursday 7th of March 2024 the crisis continued as we gathered from a reliable source.
However, a good Samaritan came and rescued the situation and controlled workers from looting the rice and vegetable oil stocked inside a Bus. The workers almost went on rampage to protest against the Head of Service for the sharing formula.
Claiming that he did not use the template as directed by the Governor. Source from the Head of Service disclosed that those aggrieved workers were acting on ignorance.
