By Joshua Chibuzo Andrew, Owerri
The Imo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, has lambasted the APC government in the state, accusing it of plunging the state into a full-blown tyranny, where institutions and corporate bodies have been debased and deployed for the total destruction of society and humanity.
The opposition party, in a world press conference held on Friday at the state party’s secretariat, Owerri, said that the party’s position on the Labour issues in the state was in keeping with its longstanding solidarity with the workers of Imo state.
Collins Opuruzor, the Imo state PDP’s Publicity Secretary, who read out the text, said that Imo workers have been subjected to the most primitive forms of oppression,deprivation, bellicosity, cruelty, violent attacks and misery by the wide-rejected government of Senator Hope Uzodinma in the last three years and five months.
He said, “human life now means nothing in Imo state. Innocent citizens are slaughtered daily in cold blood just like rams, while those who have the responsibility to protect lives look the other way. In most instances, agents ad militiamen of the government have been generally accused of directly perpetrating the killings, like the brutal murder of fourteen wedding guests from Otulu at Awo-Omamma and the killing and bombings at the residence of Barr. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere in Akokwa,and many others.
“Today, Imo workers are not just denied their salaries, they are further attacked, while aged pensioners are humiliated and flogged like beasts, even when their pensions are as well heartlessly denied. The journalist who had gone to film a protest by unpaid workers was beaten to a pulp by agents of this unelected regime right in front of the Government House. Recall that another journalist, a nursing mother, working with the government-owned IBC was sacked simply because she dared to request for her over one year salary arrears in order to care for her new born baby. This is heartbreaking!
“If we, therefore, do not get up very urgently and fold up our sleeves to reclaim our land from the barbarity brought upon us by the anti-people government of Senator Uzodinma, we all may soon be consumed by the ongoing carnage and ravages.
“It is quite unfortunate that within the last two months, Imo State has been shut down twice. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) with other affiliate unions in the State have twice embarked on strikes. Aviation operations have been grounded twice. Electricity supply to Imo has been cut off twice.
“Also, financial institutions have halted all activities twice, thereby crippling the economy of the State. As we gather here, Imo is in total blackout. All businesses have been strangulated. Imo has become a pariah state, cut off from the rest of Nigeria. This is catastrophic!
“All these have happened in Imo because of the satanic ambition of the government of Senator Hope Uzodinma to cow, muzzle, hijack and destroy the Organized Labour in the State so as to implement his scorch-earth policy of beating Imo workers and pensioners into submission by starving them of their salaries and pensions and all other sources of livelihood.
“As we speak, eleven thousand (11,000) authentic Imo workers have been stigmatized as ghost workers and they are owed twenty (20) months salary arrears. These were people verified by the past administration of the PDP, and not a dime was owed to anyone by our government. A taboo is going on in Imo State.
“Worse still, ten thousand (10,000) real Imo pensioners have also been classified as ghost pensioners, and the government has refused to pay them for twenty-two (22) months. This wicked act has led to the death of many of these senior citizens who served our state with their intellect, their skills and the brawn of their youth. These unpardonable atrocities were alien to Imo State when PDP was in power. Not a single pensioner was left unpaid by our government!
“Furthermore, the intimidation of labour union leaders and mindless use of thugs and other instruments of coercion against Imo workers have now been elevated to that status of state policy in Imo. During the March 2023 Delegates Conference of the Nigerian Labour Congress in the state, armed agents of the government went and unleashed mayhem on the innocent Comrades in the attempt to impose a weak leadership on the union. Yet, during the 2023 May Day celebration in the state, the same agents of the government invaded the venue and levied total war against the workers. Many were injured. This madness must stop forthwith!
“The Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State stands firmly with Imo workers through these dark times. We are prepared to walk with them every step of the way to ensure that their rights and privileges are never trampled upon any longer by this dictatorship of the day. We urge them to remain strong and resolute, and never to yield to the shenanigans of this already-failed and outgoing government.
“As a political party, we remain committed to our founding values, namely the creation of a free society underpinned by responsible governance, rule of law, respect for the rights of individuals and workers, and the creation of enabling environment for enterprise to flourish. Imo workers will soon have a breath of fresh air. That is our assurance. That we must do!
“We therefore invite Imo workers, and indeed all Imolites, to join forces with us in our determined agenda and program already set in motion to unseat this cancerous government of Senator Hope Uzodinma on November 11, 2023 so as the take back Imo and make it safe again for everyone.”
Reacting to the PDP’s claims, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Ogubundu Nwadike, said there was no iota of truth the opposition party’s claims.
He said that the PDP in Imo has sunk into extinction and is left with no other option than to continue barking like a mad dog.
He said, “we are all in Imo and we know the truth. PDP will always come up with one lie or the other to put the government of Imo state in bad image. We know their antics. They are crying because they have lost it all. The party is dead in the state. That is why they are always barking like mad dogs.
“Accusing the Governor of interfering in the affairs of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state is laughable and a sign of a party which has lost it all.
“For the records, the 2023 edition of May Day celebration was held at the Real Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square and was well attended by all the relevant stakeholders including the Governor, the Deputy and all the government functionaries. All the Labour Union workers were also present and went home happy. The Imo state PDP is crying for its internal wound and transferring the aggression to the ever-performing Governor of the state in order to move his attention. But the 3R government is focused.”
The Imo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, has lambasted the APC government in the state, accusing it of plunging the state into a full-blown tyranny, where institutions and corporate bodies have been debased and deployed for the total destruction of society and humanity.
The opposition party, in a world press conference held on Friday at the state party’s secretariat, Owerri, said that the party’s position on the Labour issues in the state was in keeping with its longstanding solidarity with the workers of Imo state.
Collins Opuruzor, the Imo state PDP’s Publicity Secretary, who read out the text, said that Imo workers have been subjected to the most primitive forms of oppression,deprivation, bellicosity, cruelty, violent attacks and misery by the wide-rejected government of Senator Hope Uzodinma in the last three years and five months.
He said, “human life now means nothing in Imo state. Innocent citizens are slaughtered daily in cold blood just like rams, while those who have the responsibility to protect lives look the other way. In most instances, agents ad militiamen of the government have been generally accused of directly perpetrating the killings, like the brutal murder of fourteen wedding guests from Otulu at Awo-Omamma and the killing and bombings at the residence of Barr. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere in Akokwa,and many others.
“Today, Imo workers are not just denied their salaries, they are further attacked, while aged pensioners are humiliated and flogged like beasts, even when their pensions are as well heartlessly denied. The journalist who had gone to film a protest by unpaid workers was beaten to a pulp by agents of this unelected regime right in front of the Government House. Recall that another journalist, a nursing mother, working with the government-owned IBC was sacked simply because she dared to request for her over one year salary arrears in order to care for her new born baby. This is heartbreaking!
“If we, therefore, do not get up very urgently and fold up our sleeves to reclaim our land from the barbarity brought upon us by the anti-people government of Senator Uzodinma, we all may soon be consumed by the ongoing carnage and ravages.
“It is quite unfortunate that within the last two months, Imo State has been shut down twice. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) with other affiliate unions in the State have twice embarked on strikes. Aviation operations have been grounded twice. Electricity supply to Imo has been cut off twice.
“Also, financial institutions have halted all activities twice, thereby crippling the economy of the State. As we gather here, Imo is in total blackout. All businesses have been strangulated. Imo has become a pariah state, cut off from the rest of Nigeria. This is catastrophic!
“All these have happened in Imo because of the satanic ambition of the government of Senator Hope Uzodinma to cow, muzzle, hijack and destroy the Organized Labour in the State so as to implement his scorch-earth policy of beating Imo workers and pensioners into submission by starving them of their salaries and pensions and all other sources of livelihood.
“As we speak, eleven thousand (11,000) authentic Imo workers have been stigmatized as ghost workers and they are owed twenty (20) months salary arrears. These were people verified by the past administration of the PDP, and not a dime was owed to anyone by our government. A taboo is going on in Imo State.
“Worse still, ten thousand (10,000) real Imo pensioners have also been classified as ghost pensioners, and the government has refused to pay them for twenty-two (22) months. This wicked act has led to the death of many of these senior citizens who served our state with their intellect, their skills and the brawn of their youth. These unpardonable atrocities were alien to Imo State when PDP was in power. Not a single pensioner was left unpaid by our government!
“Furthermore, the intimidation of labour union leaders and mindless use of thugs and other instruments of coercion against Imo workers have now been elevated to that status of state policy in Imo. During the March 2023 Delegates Conference of the Nigerian Labour Congress in the state, armed agents of the government went and unleashed mayhem on the innocent Comrades in the attempt to impose a weak leadership on the union. Yet, during the 2023 May Day celebration in the state, the same agents of the government invaded the venue and levied total war against the workers. Many were injured. This madness must stop forthwith!
“The Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State stands firmly with Imo workers through these dark times. We are prepared to walk with them every step of the way to ensure that their rights and privileges are never trampled upon any longer by this dictatorship of the day. We urge them to remain strong and resolute, and never to yield to the shenanigans of this already-failed and outgoing government.
“As a political party, we remain committed to our founding values, namely the creation of a free society underpinned by responsible governance, rule of law, respect for the rights of individuals and workers, and the creation of enabling environment for enterprise to flourish. Imo workers will soon have a breath of fresh air. That is our assurance. That we must do!
“We therefore invite Imo workers, and indeed all Imolites, to join forces with us in our determined agenda and program already set in motion to unseat this cancerous government of Senator Hope Uzodinma on November 11, 2023 so as the take back Imo and make it safe again for everyone.”
Reacting to the PDP’s claims, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Ogubundu Nwadike, said there was no iota of truth the opposition party’s claims.
He said that the PDP in Imo has sunk into extinction and is left with no other option than to continue barking like a mad dog.
He said, “we are all in Imo and we know the truth. PDP will always come up with one lie or the other to put the government of Imo state in bad image. We know their antics. They are crying because they have lost it all. The party is dead in the state. That is why they are always barking like mad dogs.
“Accusing the Governor of interfering in the affairs of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state is laughable and a sign of a party which has lost it all.
“For the records, the 2023 edition of May Day celebration was held at the Real Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square and was well attended by all the relevant stakeholders including the Governor, the Deputy and all the government functionaries. All the Labour Union workers were also present and went home happy. The Imo state PDP is crying for its internal wound and transferring the aggression to the ever-performing Governor of the state in order to move his attention. But the 3R government is focused.”
