By Joseph Edegbo
Kaduna (Nigeria) — As salaries and allowances of workers as well as pensioners in IMO State South east of the country remain unpaid, coupled with the issuance of bounced cheques, a concerned group in the State has asked Governor Rochas Okorocha to account for the Paris club refunds and bail out funds that came into government coffers.
The group, G42 Imo Liberation Forum said in a statement signed by its Director of Communications, Walter Duru that it is saddened by the news of the unfortunate death of the Chairman ,National Union of Pensioners in Imo State, Mr. Gideon Ezeji which it attributed to the non payment of pensions.
According to the Group, his death is most unfortunate, as he died in penury, caused by the irresponsible nature of governance in the State and that investigations revealed that Mr. Ezeji died, holding his three (3) months bounced Cheque, issued by Imo State Government.
“We are aware that there is an increase in mortality rate, hunger and sicknesses among pensioners in Imo State, owing to non-payment of their pensions and gratuities for over twelve months now.
“The development is made worse by the recent issuance of three months cheques in August that cannot be cashed till date. The initial criminal attempt by this same government to compel them to forfeit a huge chunk of the owed monies remains green in our minds.
“Apart from the arrears owed Pensioners, Civil Servants in the state are owed several months of salary arrears by the state government. The infrastructural deficit in the state is so pronounced that Imo people are now ashamed of their state.
“The obvious hunger in the land notwithstanding; with the economy of the state almost collapsed, the present administration is more interested in the erection of meaningless statues and Christmas trees that have no relevance to the socio-economic wellbeing of the people. The debt profile of the state is also very high.
“G42 Imo Liberation Forum, a socio-political mass movement in the state sees this as worrisome, considering the huge sums that have been received by the present administration, particularly, the Paris Refunds and Bailout funds.
“We therefore demand an account of how the Imo State government under Chief Rochas Okorocha has expended the over twenty-six (N26b) Billion Naira bail out funds it received from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“We also demand an account of the Internally Generated Revenue of the State, since the inception of the present administration. Imo State belongs to all of us and must not be run as an extension of Governor Rochas Okorocha’s private business empire, the statement said
