Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has alleged that there’s presently an attempt by some people and teams to blackmail his authorities forward of the November 11 governorship ballot within the state.
The governor made the remarks on Thursday on the Presidential Villa after President Bola Tinubu introduced flags to the All progressives Congress, APC governorship candidates for Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi forward of the forthcoming elections.
Uzodinma was reacting to the protest staged by members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC in Owerri on Wednesday which led to the brutalization of the union’s President, Joe Ajaero.
Ajaero had alleged that safety operatives tortured him after some miscreants hijacked the protest. The staff had been protesting unpaid salaries.
Speaking on the matter, Uzodinma insisted that the state staff are usually not owed any excellent salaries.
Addressing the state of affairs surrounding Joe Ajaero, Uzodinma defined that Ajaero has confronted challenges in separating his roles because the nationwide president of the labor union from his engagement as an celebration within the native politics of Imo State.
He stated, “From January 2020, there is no month that we failed to pay salaries. Before this time, I thought that the labour union is a democratic entity that allows the opinion of people. I don’t pay federal civil servants, I only pay Imo State civil servants.
“I challenge any Imo State civil servant to come up and say that he did not receive salary from January 15, 2020 till date.
“The NLC President is from Imo State. He has not been able to establish the difference between being a leader of an organization and an interested party in local politics.
“I want you people to be very careful because there is an attempt to mix-up partisan politics and attempt to blackmail my government.”
