BY FINTAN IBEGWAM

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State recently announced his plan to establish a fourth-tier  government. According to him, the government will be made up of  traditional rulers, town union executives, government appointed speakers and civil servants. These people will oversee the development of the local communities.

The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Imo State chapter is, however, leading opposition to the proposal.  One of the points raised by NLC is that the government wants to use the scheme to downsize the work force despite the abundance of many unemployed graduates looking for job.

The union has thus charged the government to employ them and use them for the system. The NLC has also said that another administration after  Okorocha’s government could also dispense with the new system in the same way that Okorocha’s government treated the 10,000 persons  engaged at the twilight of the Ikedi Ohakim administration.

It is as such not surprising that the labour leaders are now threatening to go on strike over the issue. Imo State Commission for Information and Strategy, Dr Obinna Duruji who spoke to Vanguard on the issue, however, gave government’s perspective that the administration is unwiling to  use new civil servants to establish the new project.

According to him, the administration is bent on using  experienced hands, who can manage the finances according to laid down government regulations. He added that the civil servants have been sensitized since Governor Okorocha promised to establish the fourth system of government. The populace he added were also sensitized through radio and television.

Gov Okorocha

Dr. Duruji was to opine that the people are finding it difficult to accept change as all natural human beings noting that Okorocha showed his sincerity to the people when he sacrificed a large chunk of his security vote.

In his own perception, Okorocha’s present action would be copied by other governors tomorrow. The constitution does not prohibit the state government through the House of Assembly from establishing the fourth tier  government or laying out a structure or system for the local government or town union administration.

He said that the town unions as they were formerly known would be known as Community Government Councils with the inclusion of government activity. He further noted that town unions have until now been unaccountable with the money realised from their activities.

The government he added wants to get a better result and hence the change in the approach and methodology. “It is a carefully mapped out programme and not a ploy to sack the civil servants as they are thinking. They know that the governor has the power to hire and fire, he does not need to go too far to do that, there are many ways to do that, they want the communities to develop,” Duruji said.

The Commissioner said that the community will chose the projects they want and it will be done for them. Noting that when the governor declared free education for primary and secondary  schools in the state, that some people claimed it would not be possible, but he observed that the policy has now been taken to the university level.

“What the government is saying is that the workers posted to the communities are going there on secondment. How long they stay there depends on the rate of the progress made in the community, it may be one year or two years. What is important is that they will not lose their remuneration or any benefit due to them as  civil servants. He was quick to distinguish the scheme from the 10,000 jobs created by Ohakim which according to him were not backed by law.

“There was no vacancy when those people were employed that was why they did not have offices or chairs where they were posted. That one was political not well planned. The community government structure law of 2006, Autonomous Community law is being amended to accommodate the community government council.

“It cannot be repealed by any person if it works. The civil servants have no problem going to the rural areas, there is misinformation on the part of the labour, they are thinking that the civil servants are going to do minor jobs, but that is not true, they are only going to do administrative jobs,” Dr Duruji said.

Meanwhile, the Federal  Ministry of Labour and Productivity has waded into the disagreement and ordered the parties to return to status quo ante.

In another development, some opposition parties under the platform of the Forum of Political Parties in Imo State have declared their support for  the proposed Fourth-Tier Government otherwise known as Community Government.

The Forum in a statement issued after its preliminary meeting recently in Owerri that was jointly signed by Comrade Joachim Anyanwu, State Chairman, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Chairman of the Forum, Engineer . N.D. Orainka, State Chairman, National Reformation Party (NRP) and Secretary of the Forum and Kelechi Ekewunwa, Acting Chairman, National Democratic Party (NDP) and Leader of the Forum, expressed optimism that the proposed fourth-tier government will reverse the ugly trend of neglecting the communities with no infrastructure or government presence by the previous administrations.