Sequel to the statement issued by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday asking the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to stop harassing workers in the State with the Nigerian Police, for asking for their legitimate right, the Imo State Government, has hitherto released a statement debunking the story that it ordered workers in the State to be teargassed.
He said he would not be dictated to on how to run the affairs of the State, saying the NLC is only trying to blackmail his government.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, the Governor said the state government concessioned the management of the parastatals to make them productive, explaining that concession of the parastatals and the management of the parastatals were not the same.
More so, Okorocha insisted that no worker was teargassed or brutalised as alleged by the national secretary of the NLC.
“We would also want to challenge the NLC National Secretary to prove his allegation, otherwise we would take it as cheap blackmail.
“The state government’s resolve to concession the managements of these parastatals was only borne out of the desire to make them productive. These parastatals are as old as the state, but they had failed or refused to do the job for which they were set up, in the first place”.
He further added that the outstanding salaries of workers of the affected parastatals will be paid and that the workers have an option to be posted to other agencies, ministries or to be paid off.
More so, he noted that labour unions are always progressives and retrogressives, so the NLC cannot dictate to the state government on how to run the affairs of the state.
The General-Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson had earlier accused the Imo State government of brutalising and teargassing workers of the parastatals, who had protested the policy of the government.
The NLC national secretary, also said organised labour would resist the state government’s concession of the parastatals.
