[PHOTO] AbiaState: 56 sacked non-indigenes drop dead

The workers in the public service, numbering about 3,500, were sacked in 2011 by the Abia State government because they were not indigenes of the state. Interesting­ly, the disengaged workers are mainly from sister-Igbo states namely; Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi.
Justifying the action of the state government, Gover­nor Theodore Orji had reportedly said: “If Abia is chas­ing other people away, we are only copying what others have done to us. It was a question of observing.....
fairness and equity. When I have the opportunity to serve the Abia State people, I have no apologies to make to anybody. What I want to place on record is this: I wonder where people were when Abia-born people were being chased away from other civil services.”
However, following strident condemnation of the ac­tion, the state government announced the recall of the sacked workers. It was gathered that what the state gov­ernment did was merely to recall a handful of the disen­gaged workers. By so doing, the government effectively broke the ranks of the affected workers.
“The picture being painted is that the workers, who were sacked because they are not indigenes of Abia State, have been recalled by the government. The purported re­call was on the internet and reported by a section of the media. But the truth of the matter is that only a few of us were recalled. The purported recall was aimed at break­ing our ranks. So, you can meet somebody who will tell you that he or she was dismissed at that time but had been recalled by the state government as promised. Many people out there do not know the true situation of things because of the propaganda machinery of the state govern­ment. Instructively, some of those who were purportedly recalled are still not getting their entitlements. The public is being deceived by the state government. Many of the sacked workers no longer come out because of sickness and hunger,” volunteered one of the sacked workers.
Investigation revealed that the non-recall and non-payment of their entitlements has taken a grave toll on the affected workers. Many of them can longer play their natural role as breadwinners of their families even as their children have dropped out of school. When sickness comes, they only pray and expect divine healing because going seeking proper treatment is out of it. Because of hunger and sickness, about 56 of them have died as at October last year and still counting. And if there is any plan by the state government to actually recall or pay them their entitlements, there is nothing to show.

Culled - SaturdaySun

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