Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has ordered the striking civil servants to resume work immediately or risk being summarily sacked.
The Governor read the rio act while addressing some youths, who paid him a solidarity visit at the Government House, Owerri.
While accusing the workers of reneging on the recent agreement it freely entered with the state government, Governor Okorocha also described the current strike as “illegal and would not be tolerated next time”.
The Governor said that “the strike was politically motivated and principally aimed at rubbishing the good reputation of his administration”.
He wondered why civil servants should embark on strike “because of just months of unpaid salaries” owed by his administration.
Okorocha was particularly irked that no other state went on strike over non-payment of salaries, considering the economic meltdown facing the country.
“I do not know of any other state whose workers went on strike as a result of unpaid salaries. Imo workers treated me unjustly by embarking on the current industrial action”, Okorocha said.
Explaining why he took the decision to sack the striking workers if they fail to resume, the Governor said a lot of youths in the state are in need of employment.
Meanwhile, labour leaders in the state have advised civil servants to ignore the threat issued by the Governor, stressing that labour may completely shut down the state if government fail to pay their unpaid salaries.
Labour also ordered pensioners not to appear before any verification team set up by the state government, stressing this verification had been conducted several times by the present administration, without paying the pensions.
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