Outcry Over Sack Of 3,000 Non-indigenes By Gov Orji

The Campaign for Democracy (CD) has urged the leadership of Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo and prominent Igbo personalities to prevail on the Abia government to rescind its decision to sack non-indigenes in its employ.

Mr Uzor Uzor, the Vice-Chairman of the human rights organisation in the South-East, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Onitsha.

NAN recalls that the Abia government on October 1 announced the sacking of 3,000 non-indigenes mainly from states in the South-Eastern part of the country, in order to be able to pay the N18,000 national minimum wage to its workers.

The move is also to enable it absorb its citizens, who fled from states in the northern part of the country due to fear of being attacked by Boko Haram.

Uzor said that if the trend was not reversed, it could signify the beginning of the disintegration of the South-East.

“Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo should come out to face this unarticulated move by the Abia government and call the governor of the state to order.

“We cannot continue this way to inflict hardship on our own brothers, in-laws and those that have had long historical ties with each other from Adam.

“Abia is far better off to pay the minimum wage, since it is one of the oil producing states in the country.”

Uzor said the state government’s action contravened the provisions of the constitution, which allows anyone to live anywhere in the country and pursue his or her legitimate means of livelihood without being discriminated against.