Governor Uzodinma sacks commissioner

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State on Saturday approved the immediate removal of the state Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Ford Ozumba.

The removal was contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Owerri by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no reason was given for the removal of the commissioner who was directed to handover to the Permanent Secretary of the ministry with immediate effect.

It is unclear for now if Mr Ozumba’s removal was in connection with the workers’ strike in the state.

Workers in the state, under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress, on 8 March, embarked on an indefinite strike over alleged interference of the Imo State Government in the election of new state executives of the union.

The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, accused the Imo government of using armed thugs and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to disrupt the conduct of the union elections in the state.

The NLC president alleged that the Imo State Government “sought to influence the outcome of the elections in the state,” by offering gratifications to the delegates to vote for their “chosen candidates.”

“This meddlesomeness was resisted by the delegates who refused the unholy offerings and baits to vote for their chosen candidates,” he said.

Mr Ajaero claimed that the state government was enraged by the delegates’ rejection of their offerings and resorted to violence ostensibly to disrupt the exercise.

When contacted on Thursday, the spokesperson to Governor Uzodinma, Oguike Nwachukwu, refuted the allegations.

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Mr Nwachukwu told PREMIUM TIMES that there was no such violence against the NLC members in the state.

“The allegation is nonsense,” he said, without giving details.

(NAN)