In a fresh development, Africa Today News, New York has gathered that the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma has recently ordered the retrenchment and sacking of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Imo State Chapter.
This is in accordance with the directives given out to the newly appointed Park Manager, Chief Ifeanyi Okafor of Lasbergas Nig. Ltd who was appointed by the governor on 11th May 2020 as both ITC Administrator and GM Imo Motor Parks.
This development has led to a lot of backlash and criticisms from Imo state indigenes.
In what can be described as a hostile takeover, the sacked workers came to work last month and met State government’s agents and armed security officials who had invaded the popular Arugo Park at the Onitsha road Owerri and replaced the workers with new faces.
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It was discovered that these new workers were men contracted by the new Imo Parks Manager, Sir Ifeanyi Okafor after he must have brokered some type of deal with them.
The embittered workers numbering above 25,000, who tried to forward a query as to why they were being sacked were met with a bitter rebuff.
This was then followed by the official presentation of Sir Ifeanyi Okafor as the new Imo Parks Manager by the Imo State Government, through the Commissioner for Transport, Barr Rex Anunobi who urged the new workers to give the new man their unflinching supports.
In his statement, Anunobi said the appointment of a Motor Park Manager is part of the measures to reform and sanitize the transport sector in the State.
He also revealed that Okafor is to oversee the activities of all motor parks, including the illegal parks pending when the terminal and Owerri Modern Central parks will be completed to pave way for closure of the illegal parks in Owerri.
It is very important to note that Sir Ifeanyi Okafor, who is from Imo State but based in Onitsha has been known to be a right-hand man to Governor Hope Uzodinma and was a very prominent figure in his ill-fated 2019 gubernatorial election campaign. Sir Okafor helped the then Senator to mobilise thugs from Onitsha and Anambra state environs to help handle his campaign propaganda and posters and as a reward, he has been instated as the new Imo Parks Manager.
Efforts have been made by the Union to reach Sir Okafor to plead with him to temper justice with mercy and reabsorb some of the old workers all to no avail. Even promises that the old agents would try to abide by the new rules and follow directives of the new work leadership have all fell to deaf ears.
As of the time of writing this report, old agents of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Imo State Chapter still remain jobless without any hope of reabsorption which in retrospect would sky-rocket the number of jobless individuals in the state, making them more susceptible to crime and dishonest means to source for a living.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK