Imo govt rally: Anger over plan to force workers to participate

Angry reactions have continued to trail the alleged plot of the state government to compel civil servants in the state to participate in a mega rally allegedly being organized in support of Ugwumba Uche Nwosu’s guber ambition.
The government Nigeria Newspoint learnt is planning what it calls mother of all rallies for Thursday this week ostensibly to show that the people of the state are still in support of Gov Rochas Okorocha’s succession plan.
However, several Imolites individually and collectively have being condemning the alleged plot describing it as unacceptable and assault on both the sensibilities of Imolites and the fundamental human rights of the workers.
A leading governorship aspirant in the state on the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA, Hon Uche Onyeagucha while denouncing the plot in a press release issued by his Chief Press Secretary Macdonald Enwere warned the governor against intimidating and threatening the state workers because of his alleged solidarity rally for Ugwumba Nwosu.
The ex lawmaker who represented Owerri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives further opined that the plan has once again exposed the Gov Okorocha’s desperation to make his son in law governor in 2019 maintaining that it is morally unjustifiable for the governor to force civil servants to go against their own wish.
He argued that the governor has made the state a laughing stock before the global community wondering how a governor who has refused to pay workers their salary and pensions would now turn back to force the hungry workers into staging a rally for him.
Also speaking on the issue a civil society organization The Good Governance Initiative TGGI, in a statement signed by Onwuka Nwachukwu and Declan Iwenofor State Cordinator and Secretary flayed the alleged plot to draft workers into a political rally.
The CSO statement said in part” Besides the vulnerability to physical harm, we wonder why Gov Okorocha thinks it fit to intimidate hapless civil servants in the state who are probably the worst victims of his bad governance.
It added ” These are the same civil servants he has subjected to the worst form of human degradation and humiliation by not only slashing their salary by as much as 30 percent but also refusing to pay what is left for months on end.”
In its own reaction Olu Owerri a socio cultural organization of Owerri Zone berated the government for trying to drag civil servants into politics saying they should be allowed to remain neutral.
Olu Owerri President Comrade Martin Opara who made the position of the body public maintained the government has no moral justification to compel the same workers it has neglected for almost eight years now to be part of its succession agenda.