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Uzodimma okays implementation of N70,000 minimum wage for Imo workers … Pensioners to get pay raise, free health insurance treatment

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GOVERNMENT OF IMO STATE

PRESS RELEASE

Uzodimma okays implementation of N70,000 minimum wage for Imo workers

… Pensioners to get pay raise, free health insurance treatment

The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma has approved the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage for workers in Imo State.

In line with the federal government’s directive for a pay raise for workers nationwide, Governor Uzodimma keyed into the plan almost immediately, setting up an implementation committee comprising the leadership of Labour in Imo State – the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress ( TUC), the Joint Union Negotiating Council – and government representatives.

The decision for the N70,000 new minimum wage for Imo State workers was reached on Monday after members of the committee had turned in their report to the Governor following their recent two days marathon meeting.

Addressing the different parties at his Conference Room before the agreement on the decision to pay N70,000 reached was signed, the Governor said that “all the unions operating in the State had agreed on the minimum wage and in addition, that those on consolidated salaries who are already on N70,000 minimum wage will get additional 10 per cent on top of their salaries.””

Governor Uzodimma also used the opportunity to approve the implementation of the financial effect of the last promotions of Imo State workers, the upward review of pension allowances for retirees after conclusion of ongoing pension audit, and the on boarding of Imo State pensioners in the State’s Free Health Care Insurance Scheme.

Also, the Governor noted that the outstanding gratuity since 2006 at the Local Government level stands at 4,529 retirees, while that at the State level stands at 6427 retirees.

However, Governor Uzodimma assured that effective Tuesday (26/11/2024), his government will resume gratuity payment of 2962 retires at the Local Government level and 2742 at the State level, with the outstanding balance of 1567 ( Local Government Area retirees ) and 2685 ( State retirees) to be paid in the next one or two batches.

The Governor reassured of the commitment of his administration to make Imo workers happy as well as to ensure that the pensioners who invested their youthful energy in serving the State are adequately rewarded.

Both the NLC and TUC Chairmen could not hide their excitement while they signed the agreement.

In the remarks of the NLC Chairman, Imo State Council, Comrade Uche Chigemezu Nwaigwe, he applauded the Governor for “his benevolence to Imo workers” and assured that “the workers will reciprocate the gesture by being more dedicated to duty and more productive.”

He specifically thanked the Governor for the payment of gratuity to pensioners of both the Local Government and State levels, and more importantly, the inclusion of pensioners in the Free Health Care Insurance Scheme of Imo State.

On his part, the TUC Chairman, Comrade Uche Great did not only join his NLC colleague in appreciating the Governor for the pronouncements, but assured that the workers and the entire people of Imo State will be comfortable with them.

The Secretary to the State Government, Chief Cosmos Iwu, the Chief of Staff, Barr Nnamdi Anyaehie, the Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Hon Declan Emelumba, the Commissioner for Health Insurance, Dr Prosper Success Ohaghaya, the Head of Service, Mrs Chikodi Emenalom, the General Manager Imo State Health Insurance Scheme, Dr. Uche Ewelike, the Special Adviser on Labour Matters, Comrade Augustine Chilakpu, some members of the State expanded Executive Council and other political appointees witnessed the meeting.

Oguwike Nwachuku
Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor
November 25, 2024.

Politics

PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU APPOINTS JAMI’U ABIOLA AS SSA ON LINGUISTICS & FOREIGN MATTERS

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PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU APPOINTS JAMI’U ABIOLA AS SSA ON LINGUISTICS & FOREIGN MATTERS
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PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU APPOINTS JAMI’U ABIOLA AS SSA ON LINGUISTICS & FOREIGN MATTERS

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jami’u Abiola as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Linguistics and Foreign Matters.

A statement by Segun Imohiosen, Director, Information & Public Relations Office the
Secretary to the Government of
the Federation says the appointment takes effect from 14th of this month. It adds that the appointment is in line with the provisions of the Certain Political and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act 2008, as amended.

It notes that until the appointment, Jami’u served as the Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties in the Office of the Vice President.

President Tinubu tasks the appointee to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and bring his wealth of experience to bear in his new assignment.

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It may not be Tinubu but power can’t return to North In 2027 – Okupe

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It may not be Tinubu but power can’t return to North In 2027 – Okupe
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Ex-presidential aide to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has emphatically declared that the presidency will not return to the North in 2027.

Okupe, who made the assertion on Monday during an interview, tackled those agitating for the Northern presidency in the next election.

He identified sectionalism as the “most fundamental problems why Nigeria is stagnating”, stressing that “those who control the affairs of this nation, in terms of politics before now, were more interested in national interest than sectional interest”.

He stated, “I say this authoritatively without any fear of contradiction or equivocation, in 2027, power cannot return to the North yet. That’s not how we do it.”

“We rotate between the North and the South. The North does eight years, at the end of which the South does eight years.

“I’m not saying that Bola Tinubu must be president in 2027, but it’s not going to be a northerner,” he explained.

© Blaze 91.5 FM

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Open Letter to Tinubu: Imo Bleeding Under Uzodinma’s Leadership, Says Fabian Ihekweme

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Open Letter to Tinubu: Imo Bleeding Under Uzodinma’s Leadership, Says Fabian Ihekweme
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His Excellency
Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR
President And Commander In-Chief Federal Republic of Nigeria
Aso Rock, FCT
Abuja.

Dear Mr. President,

MISMANAGEMENT OF IMO STATE HUMAN AND FISCAL RESOURCES BY GOV. HOPE UZODINMA

A Call For Mr. President’s Intervention Before Imo Slides Into A State of Anarchy.

I am constrained to write this open letter to you Mr. President. I decided to make it an open letter because the issues are very weighty and must be greatly worrisome to all concerned Nigerians especially to those of us from Imo state.

Mr. President, with deep sense of humility, I am seeking your gracious and timely Intervention to save the people of Imo state from brutal annihilation by the Imo state Corrupt Absentee Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma. The Governor of Imo State, who was sworn in to protect lives and properties of Imo people but ended up becoming the Modern “Anti-Christ King Ahab” who institutionalized baalism which was completely divorced from Yahwism, claims that he is above the Law because, he has Immunity, to waste Imo State Fiscal Resources as he deems fit. It is a tragedy.

The five years reign of Hope Uzodinma sofar has brought untold insecurity, hardship, agony, pain, deprivation and poverty on the land of Imo state. Our Children and youths are dying, due to hardship rulership of Uzodinma. The peace loving people of Imo state, have been seriously battered and killed by the caustic and corrosive government of Hope Uzodinma.

Since Uzodinma took his first oath of office on the 15th of January 2020, Imo state has witnessed rampant killings of Citizens which have become a rule not an exception. He has de-marketed the All Progressives Congress (APC) Party

in Imo State through severe administrative Wickedness. First, he dismantled every established instrument of governance in the state and bequeathed to himself as the only source of power “Sole Administrator” in the whole state and carries himself like an Ancient Roman Emperor. Unfortunately, Imo Citizens have become his plebeians.

Every sector in Imo state has collapsed. The Governor has shut down everywhere, puts the state under lock and keys and went back to Abuja where he resides and continues his profligacy lifestyle. He visits once every two or three months just to show appearance and renew his presence, or to host a seminar, where he lectures his displaced citizens ironically, on good governance.

Prior to the burial of the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo Chief Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu of the blessed memory on the 1st of November 2024, the Imo state governor had already spent 48 days outside Imo state. He returned to Imo on the very day Chief Engr. Iwuanyanwu was being buried. He left immediately after the burial the next day and proceeded for Egypt, as Imo Pharaoh, where he spent one week trying to con and facilitate a loan of One billion five hundred million dollars (USD $1.5billion) from Afrexim Bank which has not been granted because of lack of due process on the part of the Governor. If by any accident Afrexim Bank grants the USD $1.5 billion loan, Governor Uzodinma will definitely waste the loan on his personal inordinate political ambition, Phantom projects and personal lifestyle upkeep. He was trying to curcumvent the laws of Nigeria where the National Assembly is empowered to approve foreign loans for federal government and states.

Mr. President, I am writing about a Governor who inaugurated his Exco (Cabinet) for over a year ago but has never held any Executive Council meeting with them, he purportedly forges Exco memo approvals for projects of his personal interest. Infact, most of his Commissioners and Advisers including other senior Aides have relocated out of Imo state because there is no responsibility assigned to them.

The Imo House of Assembly which he personally handpicked almost the 27 members, are completely paralyzed. He changes the leadership of the Imo House of Assembly every year on whimsical reasons. He suspends any member that raises any issue concerning Imo people’s interest on the floor of the House without his approval.

As I write, this Open letter, three members of the Imo State House of Assembly (Ahiazu, Oru West and Okigwe state Constituencies) are still on suspension for whimsical and unjustifiable reasons.

Only motions that seek to promote and sing praises of the emperor Governor, are allowed by the Speaker. Every other business of the day must obtain gubernatorial approval from his Abuja residence, before it is tabled at the plenary.

The Governor does not tolerate any dissenting Voice from Imo Citizens against him. He uses every available covert method to deal ruthlessly with any opposition or disloyalty against him, in a brutish and undemocratic manner. Nobody from Imo state enters Presidential Villa without his approval. If you try, it’s at your own peril. Anybody that achieves such feat without him, becomes his mortal enemy. He has virtually blocked all political appointments coming to Imo state that didn’t pass through him. He supplies mediocre individuals for Federal Appointments, a deliberate sabotage against the Federal Government progress. There are so many examples: Mr. President. But the one that captured the attention of Imo people was the zoning of APC National Organising Secretary to South East and was further micro zoned to Imo state, but Governor Uzodinma, used his offices and relocated that party position to another zone, precisely to South West.

The Governor doesn’t waste time in humiliating anyone who dares him. Before the death of Chief Engr. Iwuanyanwu, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu graciously took Chief Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to see Mr. President. Since that incident occurred, Gov. Uzodinma developed so much resentment on the Deputy Speaker and surreptitiously started treating him as a mortal enemy. What was the Deputy Speaker’s offence? The only offence was that he took Ahaejiagamba to see Mr. President. Sadly, at the burial ceremony, the Rt. Honourable Deputy Speaker (DS) of The Federal House of Representatives showed up at the church service before the interment, the Governor of Imo State allegedly instructed his protocol officers to ignore the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, there was no respect, no recognition and he was not allowed to Speak.

In Igbo Culture that action of the Governor, is disrespectful to both the dead and the living and ironically it took place in the Church service, only an “Anti-Christ” could bring simple political issue in the presence of parishioners and God, unforgiving and unrepentantly. The Governor was there enjoying the fun and stamped his seal of approval as the highest political office holder from South East, the gentleman Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, was being publicly embarrassed. In addition, People see that not only as a disrespect to the legislative arm of Government but a calculated and brindled effort to ignore constituted authority from the Federal level. The Governor did not stop at the Rt. Hon. Deputy Speaker, he meted the same treatment to Governors Alex Oti of Abia State and Mbah of Enugu state. However, one of the reasons for pulling down the protocol against those visiting Governors, was because he didn’t want to face public humiliation (booing) of his people which has become a normal occurrence each time he appears in the public and coupled to the fact that those two Governors are the best performing Governors in the South East, mentioning their names alone, would have shaken the foundation of that church in admiration. So he never allowed them to speak. Mr. President may wish to put the Governor of Imo State on notice not to repeat such a degrading malfeasance again.

Mr. President, the Governor of Imo state has succeeded in cowing down respectable sons and daughters of Imo state. Anyone that dares him or criticises him will face the full wrath his ruthlessness and indignation. As we speak, a popular Roman Catholic Radio Show Host and whistle blower Chinonso Ubah popularly known as NONSONKWA has been on chains in the police cell for the past one month for speaking truth to power. NONSONKWA was picked up for telling the Governor to stop misusing Local Government funds frivolously and he has been charged to court for cyber stalking of Governor Uzodinma and his co-travelers. Mr. President, Imo people will be grateful to you, if you order the Inspector General of Police to wade into this matter and ensure that NONSONKWA is released and discontinue the phantom allegations and charges brought against him.

In the final analysis, Imo people will be eternally grateful, if you (Mr. President) will intervene into the insecurity, food crisis and mismanagement of Imo State Human and Fiscal Resources by Governor Hope Uzodinma.

The entire state of Imo is bleeding as the Governor has been unable to curb insecurity, he is unable to restore social order and has failed to discharge credible leadership. Gov. Hope Uzodinma has also failed to offer sustainable dividends of democracy and improve worker’s welfare. All he does, is to sit tight in Abuja and shuttle in and out of the country wasting Imo tax payers money in frivolous lifestyle.

Mr. President, we need your intervention to direct Hope Uzodinma to go back to his state where he is still carrying our mandate as the Governor. He can’t be wasting our resources outside Imo state with no semblance of governance from him. There is no sign of governance in Imo state as the Governor diverts the monthly state allocations to his private pockets, siphones LGA FAAC allocations, misappropriates 13% oil Derivation and other accruals including Internally Generated Revenues and on top of that, the Governor is into excessive borrowing spree, leaving huge debt burden on the state. Uzodinma is obviously behaving like someone sent to come and punish the people because he has succeeded in reversing every indices of progress in the state. Imo is now stagnant, unproductive, inert, motionless and dead. The Governor sits in Abuja and hear stories of how his people were being slaughtered everyday and he utters no single word in condemnation, rather he keeps himself busy receiving purchased awards from different organisations and institutions. How on Earth can Imo Governor be honored with award of excellence on Industrial Development when in actual sense, the Governor has not built even a factory that can employ ordinary five people. Imo is in dire need of your intervention Mr. President.

May God continue to strengthen you and keep you far away from the likes of Hope Uzodinma.

Long Live Imo state
Long Live Federal Republic Of Nigeria.

Fabian Ihekweme PhD
Ancient Seer.

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