The non-payment of severance allowances and gratuities to former Honourable Members of the Imo State House of Assembly and political appointees who served the immediate past administration reared its ugly head again during the funeral activities for the late lawmaker who represented Ideato North, Hon Louis Chukwu.
At a Special Session organized to honour the departed Louis Chukwu, former Members who spoke lamented Okorocha’s inability to pay them statutory severance allowances which were honoured by past administrations.
Leading the pack of those who complained include Speaker Emeritus, Rt Hon Goodluck Opiah. Opiah who was cynosure of all eyes and was almost mobbed at the Ojukwu Centre, where the state legislature has relocated due to on going renovation work at the Assembly Complex partly Governor Okorocha.
According to the former member who represented Ohaji/Egbema, late Chukwu would have not died had it been he secured the severance allowance to properly cater for his health needs. “Our colleagues, Chukwu who is lying here today would have not died if Governor Okorocha had authorized payment of his entitled severance. It did not start today in Imo State. After each tenure, the next tenure pays severance. But the regime of Okorocha is different. Had it been Chukwu got this money, it could have been a different case as he would have had access to good medicare”.
Others who voiced out noted that it was unfair of the Governor to prosecute “vengeance mission” against the former lawmakers instead of respecting the “Rescue Mission” spirit of his government.
After listening to their tears of sorrow, Speaker Uwajumogu who asked them to put their names on paper assured them that the severance would be paid.
It would be recalled that while few of the past lawmakers were paid N1.5m half of their severance, the remaining have been abandoned despite obtaining a court verdict for the payment of the severance.
