HARDSHIP AS IMO WORKERS ARE OWED BACKLOG OF SALARIES .

    Among the list of state governments owing their workers salaries, Imo state happens to be the worst hit. As so many government parastatals are being owed between four-eight months of salaries. Even those who have been paid regularly up until april, can only be grateful for a part payment. This has had adverse effects on the lives and activities of Imo residents, and various voices cry up to the government to pay its dues.Also, the state university (IMSU) has been on strike for almost three months, because the staff of the university have decided to shut all activities until something is done. Coupled with the high prices of products in the markets and the acute scarcity of money all over the federation, the lives of Imolites have really been made unbearable. From many quarters, workers have refused to join their counterparts all lover the world to celebrate may day. Saying that they had nothing to celebrate. Civil servants in the state have actually resorted to other means of survival, ranging from small scale poultry farming, petty trading and in a few cases crime. Mrs. Ngozi a teacher in one of the state schools has this to say- "I have six children, who are all in primary school except the first two. My husband is carpenter, and my salary is supposed to support him a little. But we have a government that has failed us, so I have resorted to small trading in my shop, and also vegetable farming. I can't die of hunger" Another aggrieved citizen was also interviewed and he didn't miss words. "This government has heartlessly disappointed us. There are other states owing salaries but not as much as Imo" he also lamented that the state governor- Gov.Okorocha had no interest in solving the problem, adding that he was currently selling shoes to earn a living. We also gathered that this problem of unpaid salaries isn't new to Imo citizens, as they have experienced such in past years, but according to Chief Chukwueme, the hardship is worse as a result of the problems experienced every where in the federation. The Governor though has not been totally quite on this, as He has come out on a few occasions, pleading for patience. He explained that the state was in serious debt, and currently not getting enough from the federal allocation.