100 women sweeping roads in Abia state protest 8 months of salary arrears

One hundred women employed by the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu to sweep the road leading to his house in Umuobiakwa have appealed to the governor to offset their eight months salary arrears to enable them attend to their domestic needs and responsibilities.

The women are mostly the governor’s brothers’ wives, sisters and other indigent widows from Umuobiakwa, the governor’s home town in Obingwa local government area of the state.

The governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu had in 2016 constructed the road that leads from Umuobiakwa junction along Ururukpa-Aba road to his personal residence and the one hundred women were employed to daily sweep the road and keep it clean. But since January this year, the one hundred women who have continued to sweep the road are yet to receive their salary and many of them are dying in silence as they cannot complain for fear of victimization.

 Many of the women said yesterday that “we cannot complain for fear of being victimized but we are appealing to the governor who had shown us magnanimity by offering us the employment to help us and our families by being benevolent to pay us”

The women said that “a woman from the office of the Wife of the Governor, Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu used to visit the community monthly to pay our salaries but since this year, we have not received anything but have continued to sweep the road.

“We don’t know whether the governor has forgotten us or whether it is the economic situation that has affected payment of workers salaries in the state that has also affected our payment. The woman used to come with the sum of N1million to pay us and we cannot explain the situation now,” they said. Attempts to speak to the Chief Press Secretary to the governor’s wife, Mr Eze Ajuzie proved abortive as he ignored several calls and messages sent to him.