BY CHIDI NKWOPARA
OWERRI—Imo State Government has reacted angrily to the sacking of non-indigenes working for its Abia State counterpart.

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Obinna Duruji, who made government’s stand known in a telephone chat, also described the new policy of Governor Theodore Orji as anachronistic and obsolete.

He said: “Abia State Government’s policy of sacking non-indigenes on its payroll is anachronistic and patently obsolete in Nigeria’s present day realities. Honestly, the policy is completely reprehensible.”

Imo State Government lamented that “the irrational act would compel us to retaliate, so as to accommodate our citizens forced out of Abia civil and public service.”

The government argued that more Abia State indigenes were currently on its payroll than what Abia State government claimed about Imo citizens.

“We have more Abians than they have ours. We have Abians in the state expanded executive council. How can we now continue to keep such persons on our payroll when our own have been summarily sacked by their employers? This is sad.

“Those on our payroll will obviously be disengaged to quickly make room for those sacked by Abia Government. Some Igbo patriots have been making frantic effort to unify Ndigbo but Governor Orji’s damnable act has completely rubbished whatever remained of Igbo unity.”

He reasoned that it was not late for Abia government to have a rethink, adding that the policy would certainly iginite a far-reaching chain reaction within the geo-political zone.