Some public workers in Imo State are owed up to 17 months’ pay, contrary to claims by the government that it is owing only one month.
State Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Austin Chilakpu, said while civil servants are owed one month (May), employees of Adapalm, the state owned palm oil processing plant, are owed seven months.
He added that workers of Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) are owed three months; Arts and Council (four months); Imo Water Board (four months); Tourism Board (four months); Statesman newspaper (17 months).
Chilakpu blamed the situation on bloated government expenses.
“Low allocation is not an excuse when it has to do with workers’ salaries. The government can still prune down the cost of running the government by reducing the convoy, political appointees, and concentrate on the use of professionals to achieve desired results.”
He said Governor Rochas Okorocha’s use of politicians to manage government agencies have worsened the situation of agencies.
He accused politicians of looting government property, resulting in epileptic performance by the agencies.
Chilakpu also lamented the decision of the government to hand over revenue collection to touts.
“In the Board of Internal Revenue, we have a department in charge of revenue drive. Why use touts as revenue collectors who are now busy embarrassing members of the public? Politicians have taken over the area while the staff of that department are doing nothing.
“The government should allow professionals to do the job for which they were employed. Politicians are virtually running ministries and parastatals.
“We went to the state secretariat for a meeting [and discovered that] all directors and other principal officers of government agencies [had] gone to Government House for one thing or another.
“Every morning you must pay homage at Government House and perhaps report to work at 1pm and these things are being encouraged by the government, yet they accused them of not being productive.
“They [Imo Statesman and Imo Water Board] were dispossessed of their properly acquired lands and other properties.
“These politicians took advantage of their respective positions in government and looted these valuable properties belonging to the state.
“[Okorocha] sacked Imo Water Board from their premises without providing an alternative place for water engineering equipment and offices for the staff of the board.
“These costly equipment are gradually being looted by the appointees of government, while the fate of all the affected staff is yet to be decided.”
On Imo Concorde Hotel, Chilakpu said: “Two giant generators were vandalised, we caught the vandals and took them to government authorities and the case died. Private hotels owned by politicians are flourishing to the detriment of government owned hotels.
“We have been advising the government not to involve politicians in the running of parastatals otherwise they will ground them all. Today the debt profile is high and salaries of workers are not paid.”
Meanwhile, Okorocha has said his administration is determined to transform Imo into the China of Nigeria and has approved a business tour of China for 100 Imo businessmen and industrialists for partnerships and technological transfer.
