The attention of the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has been drawn to an online report with the referenced Caption.The summary of the lengthy but unfounded story or claim was that Imo Governor “had beaten the wife to Pulp because she asked him to pay Civil Servants their Salary arrears”.
Let us begin our refutal by asking God to deliver innocent Nigerians from the onslaught of these heartless elements who have invaded the social media for the sake of inflicting cuts on their victims including those they even know, God has blessed.The report of Governor Okorocha beating the wife because she asked him to pay Civil Servants their salaries was a mere fabrication by those expectedly in dire need of salvation. No true Christian or Muslim can tell such bare lies against any one.
In the first place, Governor Okorocha has paid the Civil Servants in the State their salaries upto the month of September. We stand to be contradicted or challenged on this Claim, with God also being our witness.Again, Governor Okorocha has also paid teachers upto the month of September too. We also stand to be proved wrong on this innocent Claim.
The Imo governor has equally paid upto the month of September, the Salaries of workers in some government’s Parastatals and Agencies except some of those the government has Concessioned their Managements, including some of the Health outfits in the State and in the overall interest of Imo people.
The truth is that the Salary of the workers in the affected parastatals had been made available long before now, but the only outstanding issue is that the government and the leaders of the organized labour in the State were not able to agree at their last meeting what should be the fate of the affected workers in the Concerned Parastatals after off-loading their outstanding salaries.
The government had, during the meeting with the labour leaders given two options to the workers in the affected Parastatals that had their Managements Concessioned for efficiency and productivity. That, either they would be paid their remaining salaries and transferred out to other government’s establishments in the State or be paid off with all their entitlements.
The labour leaders could not give final answer till the end of the meeting. Another meeting was about to be fixed when the concerned workers were reported in the media to have rejected all the options and insisted on remaining put in the parastatals. No government can allow such affront.
To show where they were coming from, those behind the online false report could not say where the incident they had claimed took place because the governor’s wife, Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha had travelled outside the Country for three months now to take care of the daughter who gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. She had gone for what the Igbos call “Omugwo”. She has been there alone without the husband. The husband (governor) has been in Imo since that period. So, where did the governor and the wife meet to begin to argue over the salary of Civil Servants to the extent of the governor beating the wife? The referenced incident must have only taken place in the imaginations of the authors.
You can see the unclad lies. And at times one is forced to begin to wonder why some people trade on falsehood, and what could be their stake. This is unfortunate.
We want to state with every sense of sincerity that the report was totally false and should be seen and treated as such. While, we ask God to meet all these people taking delight in propagating or marketing falsehood against innocent people, like he met the biblical Saul and indeed, Change them to Paul of our generation.
Sam Onwuemeodo
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor