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News Release: Invitation To A Fifty-Thousand-Man-March In Owerri In Solidarity With 10,000 Disengaged Workers

Protesting Workers

Pan African Youth Movement (PAYM) in conjunction with Campaign For Workers’ Rights (CWR) will be holding a 50,000 man march in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, on the 5th of September 2011. Our take off point will be Imo State Civil Service Secretariat Port Harcourt Road Owerri   to Government House Owerri. On the 6th of June 2011, Owelle Rochas Okorocha the governor of Imo State goofed by announcing  the sack of 10,000 workers who got job placement  before he came into office. PAYM and CWR have noted that the disengaged workers were duly employed by the Imo State Civil Service Commission.

PAYM and CWR use this medium to register our displeasure over the June 6th 2011 disengagement of 10,000 graduate workers of Imo State. We note that unemployment remains one of the greatest challenges facing our nation. We believe that rather than sacking the 10,000 workers, governor Okorocha should build on that foundation and create additional job placements, over and above the number credited to the last administration. We believe that government is playing politics with the future of the youths. We believe that the 2035 names released by the government as successful ones out of the 10,000 disengaged workers is a political gimmick to deceive the Imo populace. We believe that any government that is anti-workers is anti-people and therefore anti-students.

We,  as student activists group in all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria hereby call on the government of Imo State to immediately and unconditionally recall the 10,000 workers who have been unjustly sacked by the government  sinceJune  2011. We also call on the leadership of NLC  in Imo state to put  efforts at defending the rights of the workers. NLC should initiate and lead series of mass activities as well as legal action to compel the lawless and anti-worker government in Imo State to respect the rights of workers.

PAYM and CWR are setting aside September 5th 2011 for a historic 50,000 man march in Owerri to declare to the Government of Imo State to recall the 10,000 workers. We will be travelling en masse to Owerri  and show our support for our graduate workers. Official invitations have been forwarded to all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria were PAYM and CWR are represented.This message also stands as invitation to all Nigerian students for the 5th September man march in Owerri

 We also call on Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joint Action Forum (JAF) and other  pro-labour organizations not only to immediately and spiritedly intervene in the plight of the victimized workers in Imo state  but also unleash the might of labour movement against the Imo State government for its anti-labour activities

Nigerian students, It is now or never. If Imo state fail to recall the sacked workers, Okorochas should know that he has declared war on Nigerian students and will be declared personae non grata in all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria and once he is seen in any tertiary institution he will be stoned with sachet water and he should expect an all Nigerian youth revolution in Imo state. All PAYM and CWR members should prepare to mobilize youths for 50,000 man march in Imo State. How many of us them go shoot? Our destiny is in our hands. We call on Imo House of Assembly to address this issue of the disengaged workers in Imo state now. Okorocha is not bigger than Nigerian students. Dare to struggle, dare to succeed. Aluta continua, victory  ascerta .

Comrade Emenike  Amadi

National President

Pan African Youth Movement (PAYM)

Comrade Obinna Emeka

President Campaign for Workers’ Rights (CWR)