Primary and secondary school teachers in Imo state, on Thursday, March, 18 staged a peaceful protest over the state government’s refusal to pay their salaries for 12 months consecutively.

The protest was held in front of the Government House, Owerri thereby halting human and vehicular movement in the area. It was learned that the action was triggered off by Gov. Hope Uzodimma’s alleged claim that teachers who were yet to receive their salaries were ghost workers.

The protesting teachers carried placards with inscriptions, such as

“Uzodimma lied to Imo people on teachers’ salary”,

“We are not ghost workers, we have our employment letters, please pay us” and

“Uzodimma come and see us and prove we are ghost workers”.
 

The teachers alleged that they were last paid in February 2020, barely one month after Uzodimma became governor.

One Mrs. Grace Ajaegbu, a teacher at Community Secondary School, Udo in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area, said she had not been paid since the inception of the present administration.

Another teacher, Mrs. Juliet Akalazu from Mbaitoli, who said she had been employed for eight years, said she had not been paid since March 2020.