Showdown as workers defy Governor Okorocha
– Governor Rochas Okorocha has been criticised by labour unions in Imo state over the implementing the back to land for agriculture programme
– Okorocha appeals to workers in the state to show understanding over the programme of the government
– Says the policy it will not only help their individual economies but will also boost the economy of the state
A showdown is looming in Imo state as workers on Thursday, August 4, reported to work in defiance to Governor Rochas Okorocha’s directive that they take off Thursday and Friday every week from their respective offices after working Monday to Wednesday.
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Governor Okorocha has been criticised by labour unions in Imo state for implementing the back to land for agriculture programme which requires workers to work from Mondays to Wednesdays and use Thursdays and Fridays to farm.
Yesterday, August 4, which should have been the workers’ first free day, workers at various ministries and parsstatals were in their usual offices working, following a directive from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Daily Trust reports.
In a response to the NLC stand, Okorocha appealed to workers in the state to show understanding over the programme of the government.
The governor in a statement issued in by his chief press secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, urged them to appreciate that the policy was meant to allow workers to use Thursdays and Fridays to farm, except workers on essential duties like teachers, nurses, doctors, political appointees and IGR personnel.
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He said “The workers were not asked to go home to stay idle. And if they dutifully engage in farming, it will not only help their individual economies but will also boost the economy of the state.
“The governor had equally made it clear that the development will not in any way affect the salaries of the workers’’
“The new policy is in the best interest of everybody. If it succeeds, it will mark an enviable turning point in the economy of the state. No one thinks that any patriotic citizen of Imo state will oppose this lofty programme.
“The governor is still appealing to the leadership of NLC in the state to appreciate the good intentions in all he is doing for the people and also show understanding over the new policy.”
In another development, it appears Governor Okorocha has ran into trouble with a section of Igbo speaking Nigerians who have threatened to disown him over his plot to remove Senator Ike Ekweremadu as deputy Senate president.
According to Daily Post, the threat to disown Okorocha was made by the Archbishop of the Enugu province, Anglican Communion, the Most Rev Emmanuel Chukwuma on Thursday, August 4, when members of the National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) visited the archbishop at his place in Enugu.
Chukwuma, criticised Governor Okorocha over his persistent attacks on Ekweremadu, and called on the governor to apologise to the senator for harassing him.
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