Maduako Igbokwe I Thursday, June 22, 2023
UMUAHIA – As the Alex Otti’s new administration continues to work towards repositioning government affairs in Abia State, former management and other senior workers of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba sacked by immediate past governor of the state Dr Okezie Ikpeazu have appealed Governor Alex Otti to review their case.
Some of the staff of the Abia state government owned Abia Poly were relieved of their appointments in 2019 and the matter is currently in the Federal Industrial Court, Owerri, Imo state.
Though, the sacked workers, despite believing they will get justice in the arbitration court, still feel that the new administration will be benevolent enough to give them succour and reinstate them .
Leader and former Chairman of the Senior Staff Association, Abia Poly, Mr. Nwachukwu Chuks said they want the governor to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to determine if allegations of overstaffing, entering into the Polytechnic’s employment with falsified or unverified qualifications among other by the former Gov Okezie Ikpeazu administration were correct.
“We want the new administration of Dr Alex Otti, to set up a judicial inquiry to ascertain the true reason. We were accused of committing offences we didn’t know and sacked with ignominy.”
“Even after several allegations against us, including that of being overpopulated, we realized, that all of us that were either retired or had their appointments terminated, were from a particular area of the State, and this has caused us much pain, death of our members as well as brought us into ridicule” he said .
Nwachukwu, said despite claiming that Abiapoly was overstaffed, the then administration, went ahead to recruit hundreds of staff from certain favoured zones, to replace those that were retrenched, even as they were owed 15 months arrears of salary, which has been paid till now.
He lamented the untold hardships, they were currently facing including the death of some of them, mentioning specifically one Mrs Gloria Agwu, a former Chief Librarian, who had a fatal accident that led to the loss of her legs and later died from the pains of not having money to dress the resultant sores on her legs and get proper medical attention, among others.
“Life has been tough for us. In fact some of colleagues lost their lives due to not being able to take care of themselves, their children’s school demands. Our Chief Librarian, Mrs Gloria Agwu, got involved in a fatal motor accident that affected her spinal cord, a situation that left her using wheel chair”
“She was forcefully sacked, and there was no money to take care of her. Sores she had from the accident could not be properly dressed, so, she died. Another colleague, Victoria Kalu Okpo, also died as a result of the laying off. Our children are out of school” he cried out.
He accused the former administration of peddling unfounded rumours with claims that a cabal headed by a son of a prominent traditional ruler in the State, had printed the Polytechnic’s fake official receipts, to collect school fees from students, but was unable to name the person, and appealed to Gov Otti, to set up a judicial inquiry to cover the period from 2013 to the end of the Ikpeazu administration, on May 29th, 2023, to find out the truth about the state of the institution, and those that actually ran it aground.
“Our case with the authorities over our sack are on two grounds of unlawfully termination of our appointments, after serving the institution between 24 and 28 years without query. We are seeking explanation for the selected sack of staff from a particular area of the State” he asked.
Dr Azu Okoh, former Head of the Department of Guidance and Counseling, also spoke on the issue, alleging that after recognizing the problems of the institution and agreeing with the staff to work in unison towards finding solutions to them, the government resorted to castigating people from Old Bende areas of the State, sacking them and bringing in kins of the former Governor Ikpeazu, as replacements.
Such new employees, he claimed, included a retired Deputy Registrar in the State University, Uturu, (ABSU), one Mrs Comfort Nwabughiogu, who got appointed as substantive Registrar, even as she was still receiving pension from the university.
“The only medical doctor in our clinic, Dr Eze Nwokocha, was transferred out to a conventional hospital, Akahaba Hospital, Abiriba, in Ohafia Council Area, and when we protested, the authorities locked the school’s gate and sent everyone home.”
“Dr Nwokocha, was sacked for refusing to go and he went to court and got judgement to be paid all arrears of salaries owed him and be reinstated into Abiapoly but the government had not done so until it’s tenure ended” he said.
Another member of the group and former Deputy Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Peter Kalu Ibe, said they were confident that the arbitration court would soon deliver judgement in their favour, but regretted that the polytechnic authorities were using delay tactics to prolong the process.
The sacked workers were happy though, on the appointment of one of their colleagues, who they said was an insider, as the acting rector by the Alex Otti administration.
The institution’s new Rector, Mrs Ndukwe, and Public Relations Officer, Mrs Stella Nwakanma, were not on seat when our correspondent visited the campus, to confirm or deny the allegations, though a senior management staff who didn’t want to be named publicly said he was aware of the matter in court.
