Sacked Abia workers disrupt Workers’ Day celebration

 Sacked Abia workers disrupt Workers’ Day celebration

From GEORGE ONYEJIUWA, Owerri

The 2014 Workers’ Day celebration in Owerri, Imo State capital was yesterday disrupted by  indigenes of the state, who were sacked by the Abia State Government from its public service.

They  stormed the Heroes Square venue of the celebration, to protest their sack, urging, Governor Rochas Okorocha to redeem his pledge of re-integrating them into the Imo State public service.

The 1,624 sacked workers who were attired in red and chanting solidarity songs, regretted that while repeated representations to the state government to engage them had been ignored, a number of their colleagues had died of hardship.

Mrs. Angela Madu Okoli, coordinator for Aba zone, who spoke jointly with her Umuahia zone counterpart, Mr. Peter Oluigbo, regretted that the state government had done nothing to help, stressing  that none of those  sacked by the Abia State Government had been paid a kobo to date.

They dismissed the claim by the Abia State Government that it had directed those still interested in their job to re-apply for possible reinstatement, insisting that none of those who had since complied with that directive had regained his job.

“We are to tell our own governor that we are still suffering without job and for now we neither belong to Imo nor Abia State,” the sacked workers said.

Governor Rochas Okorocha, who later addressed the workers, sympathised with the sacked them  and appealed to his Abia State counterpart  to reconsider his decision in the interest of Igbo unity, solidarity and oneness.

Okorocha, who recalled his efforts to ensure that the Igbo nation remained an indivisible entity, assured that he would not toe the line of his brother governor  by sacking Abia indigenes  in Imo State public service.He lamented the misery that had befallen the sacked workersand promised to do something about their case if the Abia Government remained unyielding.