By Burningpot Sources

The controversy that has raged in the past few months about Abia State expelling non-indigenes from its civil service has been going the way of all Nigerian debates — aspersions, name calling, threats and more noise which when expended leaves the matter unaddressed.

None of these is new. The details of the matter are that the Abia State Government expelled those not from the state’s service. Abia did not deny the action. Its explanation that it was the last of the five states from the former East Central State, in the mainly Igbo-speaking parts of former Eastern Region, to have acted this way, sounds retaliatory, but again, it is the truth. The further explanation that Abia was sagging under the weight of its citizens sacked from service in other states is emotional and debatable.

From 1991 when two more states (Abia and Enugu) were created from Imo and Anambra states, the issue was hot. Enugu State almost collapsed on inception because the bulk of the civil servants from Anambra State left, most fearing then that they had no future in the new state.

Some of the new states systematically weeded out the non-indigenes, who they claimed oppressed them in the former states. The practice from the military endured. In 2002, the civilian government in Imo State refused to pay pensioners of Abia State origin, who retired from its service. There were some complaints then and the matter was never resolved.

The absurdity of this situation arises from the fact that the governors of the five states meet regularly. They even have dreams on common economic plans. They were in tandem when they shut their state universities over disputes with lecturers. Why would a profound matter of this ranking escape their attention?

Whether Abia is right or wrong is not the matter at stake. The real issue is status of the Nigerian. Is he an indigene or a Nigerian citizen? Which of the status is legal? Which status serves him well as he navigates the challenges of life in a country its leaders boldly canvass national positions while standing firmly on ethnic platforms?

At stake is a constitutional breach of Section 42. The section meant to protect Nigerians from discriminations is not of interest to the National Assembly that should have enacted laws against the daily discriminations Nigerians face because they are not indigenes of a particular state.

Section 42 states, (1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:- (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or (b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions. (2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth.

Instead of the debates, the affected citizens or their governments should sue Abia for breaching the Constitution. Or is it a case of unwillingness to seek equity because of soiled hands?

When abrogations of the rights of citizens are so unimportant that we just debate them, we sustain bases for people to be indigenes of states and not Nigerians, who the Constitution awards rights as citizens.

By Christopher Isiguzo

South-east Governors Forum (SGF) meeting ended in a deadlock in Enugu State Sunday, as they reportedly disagreed over the issue of the implementation of the new minimum wage by states in the zone.

The disagreement was as a result of a division between some governors who are willing to meet the demands of their workers and those who are adamant that they cannot.

Sources close to the governors disclosed that only one out of the five

governors was willing to meet the workers demand.

The meeting which was slated for 1pm ended about 5pm and the Chairman of the Forum and Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, refused to talk to journalists as he merely said: “I have nothing to say to you.”

THISDAY gathered that the governors, who were rushing to their vehicles, were heading to the Akanu Ibiam International Airport enroute Abuja, for a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sources told THISDAY that the meeting was summoned in the wake of the on-going indefinite strike by civil servants in Enugu State, which was declared by the national leadership of the labour unions in Nigeria.

According to sources, the essence of the meeting was for the governors to adopt a common stand on how to counter the demands of their workers for the full implementation of the new minimum wage.

The sources said the governors were worried by the intervention of the national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the minimum wage negotiation and the consequent strike.

The position of the governors, our correspondent gathered, was that none of the state should negotiate with the national labour leaders.

According to the forum, the minimum wage issue was a purely South-east affair and no governor in the zone should negotiate with any labour leader outside their states.

The governors allegedly agreed that they should not shift grounds from their various positions of how much they could afford to pay their workers.

They argued that if any of the state accept full implementation of the new wage the others would be blackmailed to do so. The sources recalled that during a strike with unions of state owned universities in the zone, labour leaders from outside the state were walked out of a meeting between the governors and staff unions, on the ground that it was an Igbo affairs.

By Vincent Ujumadu

Labour leaders in Anambra State, yesterday, flogged senior civil servants out of their offices for violating the one-week warning strike declared by labour unions over the new N18,000 minimum wage.

They also chased away members of the tribunals handling election petition matters and forced the state radio station, which was on air, to close down.

Labour embarked on the warning strike, Monday, following what its leaders described as the state government’s foot-dragging on the implementation of the minimum wage.

At the state secretariat, yesterday, commissioners and permanent secretaries, who were already in their offices, had to scamper for safety when they learnt that the enforcement team of labour was going round offices with whips and flogging those seen in their offices.

At the state broadcasting service, they stopped the senior staff from providing skeletal services and all those who were at their duty posts were chased away. A director who resisted the order was severely flogged on his back in the presence of his subordinates.

Though members of the two election petition tribunals sitting at the premises of the High Court complex were already set to begin the day’s business, the labour enforcement team ordered everybody out and locked the gates.

Some of the litigants had to plead with the team to allow the tribunals to sit because of the time frame of the tribunals. After a long discussion, labour agreed that the tribunals should start sitting from today because of the essential nature of their assignment.

The labour leaders, however, had it rough with some junior civil servants who insisted on not participating in the strike because their interests were adequately protected by the implementation chart recently released by the state government.

Judiciary workers, who recently resumed work after six months of strike, also resisted the labour leaders. Their argument was that labour never cared to intervene on their behalf while the strike lasted, adding that they were tired of staying at home.

By Kenneth Uwadi

Nigerian politicians never seize to amaze me. During pre-election period they will preach a new dawn, holding voters on their palms like raw eggs, gently, like the last raw eggs in the world. But once election is over the politicians will immediately tighten up their grips on the eggs, just a little for a start, then a big squeeze. A little more and the hurt begins. The voters will wrench out a cry that slides around fear. The voters’ dream for a new dawn will then explode fiercely, like the head of a kitchen match, shattered.

Owelle Rochas Okorocha was ‘elected’ Governor of Imo state this year. Imolites expect him to “hit the ground running”, according to the new catch-phrase in our political lexicon. Okorocha has said it in several places that he is on a mission to rescue the state from the shackles of poverty and under-development. You would recall that the Governor during his inauguration speech laid out in broad outlines a set of objectives for transforming Imo state.

70 days after the instrument of Office was handed over to him, signals from Douglas House Owerri have failed to show any optimism that Imo will soon begin to witness the so called real progress rather Governor Okorocha has been behaving like a Papa Ajasco politician. A Papa Ajasco politician preaches sermon to the world that he is doing well for his constituency while he is busy defecating on the peoples head. Only a Papa Ajasco politician will be supervising (himself) the distribution of free kerosene to women of Owerri at the Dan Ayiam stadium and turning his back on youths in Owerri that are crying to have their jobs back.

All the enticing pre-election promises of transforming Imo State to an Eldorado within a few months appear to have become a mirage.  Ndi-Imo have seen that public administration is a different kettle of tea from the management of a private enterprise where decisions by fiat are permissible.  Okorocha has failed to understand that administering a state requires constant consultation with relevant stake-holders and the humility to accept advice and that is why he has so far committed so many administrative blunders.

My brother’s son, 10 years old, shocked me the other day. Good morning, Uncle!  Have you not heard? He asked me. Heard what? Uncle, don’t tell me you have not heard of the recent Owerri High Court judgment that Governor Rochas Okorocha has no power to sack elected Council Chairmen. Currently Imo has two Council Chairmen in each of the Councils in the state, the elected ones and the stooges appointed as Caretakers. Thanks to mal administration. The boy murmured gently over Edris Abdulkarim’s music ‘Nigeria Jagajaga’ and left the room.

To me Governor Okorocha should resign for he has shown signs of incompetence. He has irredeemably lost authority and lost the confidence of Imolites. His polling rating has dropped drastically and he is being disliked by so many persons in so short a time .He has lost the confidence and support vital to the ability to lead, let alone to administer a state like Imo state.

Okorocha should resign for making so many administrative gaffes. He should resign for becoming dictatorial and lawless and for bringing Imo state close to anarchy. He should resign for announcing the sack of elected Council Chairmen and Councilors of Imo state despite advice from several persons .A Nigerian governor has no legal authority to sack LGA Chairmen. They are democratically elected officials of Councils and have specific period to be in office. This dissolution of elected Council officials runs contrary to the Constitution that recognizes Councils as the third tier of government.

I remember in November 2010 when the Nigerian House of Representatives condemned the dissolution of the Ekiti State Local Government Councils by Ekiti State Government before the expiration of their term of office and directed the Accountant General of the Federation to withhold all funds due the 16 Local Governments of Ekiti until the Local Government Chairman are returned to their offices. The House of Representatives also passed the resolution that federal allocation to Edo, and Ondo States be stopped until their sacked Council Chairmen are reinstated.

Okorocha must immediately resign as governor of Imo State and seek treatment for anger management. He should resign for sacking 10,000 workers legally employed by the last administration. Here is a Governor who during electioneering campaigns promised that before his first 100 days in office, he would create jobs for youths.  Sadly, just 70 days into his administration, he has thrown back into the labor market 10,000 highly qualified youths. The Governor’s actions are callous.  His basis for the dismissal of the 10,000 workers was that their appointments weren’t done according to due process and that they were cronies and mainly family members of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim and so he set up a joke called Jobs Verification Committee to look into the 10,000 jobs. What other due process requirement are needed.

Someone needs to remind him that the employment of the 10,000 was approved by the State House of Assembly and the state Civil Service Commission.  The recruitment was conducted through due process.  Advertisement was placed in national newspapers. Governor Okorocha’s decisions were taken in order to punish perceived enemies of his administration. To Okorocha what is good for Imo youths is unemployment, the angry hunger, that’s what the 10,000 Imo workers deserve for voting him into power. The 10,000 suspended workers are now at home jobless. Even the 2,035 persons he claimed to be the genuine workers out of the 10,000 have not been fix into payroll. He has continued to blame his inadequacies on lack of fund but he forgot that we know that Imo state is the 5th richest state in Nigeria.

Okorocha should resign for sponsoring an illegal impeachment of Chief Goodluck Nanah Opiah as the Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly with only 10 members of the House of Assembly out of 27 members just five days to the expiration of the tenure of Opiah. Imo State House of Assembly has 27 members and impeachment of the speaker in accordance with the provision of the Nigerian constitution and the House Rules require 2/3 of members of the house. Ten members were instigated by Okorocha to carry out legislative lawlessness by breaking into the chambers of the house while the house was in recess and announcing the impeachment of Opiah.

Okorocha should resign for his vicious disposition to the top echelon of the state’s Civil Service and for sacking a Permanent Secretary of the Civil Service  on the ground that “his Service  was  no longer required”. Just like that! He should resign for lobbying the State House of Assembly to pass a bill for the dissolution of the State Civil Service Commission and the Local Government Commission.

Okorocha should resign for making things worse for the finance of Imo state with his over bloated cabinet. His over 150 cabinet members and committees   is a perpetuation of a culture of waste. His cabinet is   jobs for the boys, and each of these commissioners and aides will have a convoy  of aides and they will also travel and be paid fat salaries and allowances. This is just a waste of our resources. The size of Okorocha’s cabinet is another sign of poor leadership traits.

Okorocha should resign for suspending the 106 new autonomous communities that were created by the last administration. Some indigenes who reacted over the suspension of their new traditional rulers questioned the rationale behind the government’s decision. They lamented that their communities went through due process in the selection and presentation of their traditional rulers. Okorocha has already lost the support of the 106 affected communities with an estimated population of 1.6 million.

Okorocha should resign for the removal in office of the chairman of Imo state Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya without due process and for privatizing the Imo State Transport Company (ITC). Contrary to the laws establishing the Traditional Rulers Council in Imo state which guarantee a specific tenure for Ilomuanya, the governor just woke up and removed the chairman. Go Okorocha, resign now for you have indeed failed in your obligation under the Constitution to uphold the laws of the land. Resign now

-Kenneth Uwadi writes from Mmahu-Egbema, Imo State,Nigeria