Staff of the Hospital Management Board today carried out yet another peaceful protest to drive home their message for the Abia state government to offset the 12 months arrears of unpaid salaries acruable to them.
Recall that staff of the board have over the past months staged protests to make Government wake up to its responsibilities of paying them but to no avail.
Today’s protest saw the gate to the offices locked even as civil servants of the board were locked out of their various offices.
Some of the placards read: Our children are out of school because of no salary; Save our soul, HMB staff are dying; Govt of Abia State pay us our 12 months salaries; Workers of HMB Abia State are dying, No salary”, among others.
The sad workers blocked a section of the Aba road, Umuahia even as motorists and other road users were forced to resort to one way traffic just as gridlocks were experienced intermittently.
They sang songs asking when they see a saviour regarding their unpaid salaries
The Area Commander, Umuahia, Odion Ekeinde
drove in with three Hilux Patrol vans with close to a dozen policemen and asked them to leave the road and as well remove the road block
He argued that hoodlums are likely to hihack the protest just as he insisted that the Aba road is a federal road which aught not to blocked
And for twenty minutes, he argued with the protesters before he hounded then into removing the blockade
Comrade Chidinma Nwokoma of the Medical Health Workers said the police came to intimidate them but insisted they were not protesting violently.
She confirmed that the Hospital Management Board workers are owed 12 months salaries even as she admitted that they are passing through hell
