BY Abdulsalam Abdullah
Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo, has directed that civil servants in the state who do not show up for work on Mondays should lose their salaries.
Declan Emelumba, commissioner for information and strategy in Imo, disclosed the governor’s directive in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“The Government of Imo State has observed with dismay that some civil servants, for inexplicable reasons, absent themselves from duties, especially on Mondays,” the statement reads.
“This is totally unacceptable, moreover since such civil servants neither obtain permission nor have authorisation of their superiors to abstain from duty, thereby making their conduct illegal and unprofessional.
“Consequently, the government will henceforth view such a rascally conduct as a direct challenge to its authority, which will attract sanctions.
“Going forward, His Excellency the governor of Imo State Sen Hope Uzodimma, has directed that any civil servant who absents himself/herself from duty on Mondays or any other day for that matter will lose his/her salary in addition to other punishments that may be recommended against him/her.
“Consequently, permanent secretaries and heads of parastatals and heads of agencies of government are hereby directed to immediately commence daily roll calls of workers to ensure that those who disobey this order suffer the consequences.”
IPOB DIRECTIVE
A civil servant who pleaded anonymity told TheCable that the major reason for the absenteeism on Mondays was because of the sit-at-home order enforced by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
She said the government and security agencies have not done enough to keep IPOB elements at bay.
“It is not true that Monday sit-at-home has been completely checkmated in Imo state. If you check very well, most of the killings and burning of houses in Imo state always take place on Mondays,” the source said.
“A lot of my colleagues have been attacked by unknown faces and their belongings taken away from them while going to work on Mondays.
“You can run a check yourself. Imo roads are always scanty on Mondays because even the commercial drivers also observe sit-at-home order. We cannot afford to risk our lives because we are seeing reality with our eyes.”
In 2021, IPOB ordered a Monday sit-at-home in the five south-east states until Nnamdi Kanu, its leader, is released from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
IPOB subsequently suspended the directive after several months. However, the militant wing of the group has insisted on enforcing the sit-at-home.
In June 2023, Kanu ordered an end to the weekly sit-at-home. However, stalls and offices are always shut in some south-east states every Monday.
Kanu is standing trial for charges bordering on treasonable felony as preferred against him by the federal government.
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