Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has claimed the accusation of brutalizing the President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, is currently an attempt by some individuals and groups to blackmail his government ahead of the November 11 governorship poll in the state.
Goldennewsng reports that Uzodinma made the remarks on Thursday at the Presidential Villa after President Bola Tinubu presented flags to the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidates for Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi ahead of the forthcoming elections.
Recall that Ajaero had alleged that security operatives tortured him after some miscreants hijacked the protest in Owerri over unpaid salaries.
Reacting to the development, Uzodinma insisted that the state workers are not owed any outstanding salaries and challenged Imo State civil servants to speak over the claim of unpaid salary.
The Governor argued that Ajaero had faced challenges in separating his roles as the national president of the Labour Union from an interested party in the local politics.
He said, “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.”
