By Chidi Nkwopara & Chinonso Alozie

OWERRI—Government activities were grounded yesterday as staff of Njaba local government shut the gates of the council headquarters to press home demand for payment of their January and February salaries.

The workers, who wore gloomy faces when Vanguard visited the scene, were seen outside the gate in groups, discussing and bemoaning their fate.

Although none of the workers wanted to be quoted on the issue, they, however, accused the state government of currently remote controlling payment of staff salaries from one source.

“Things are getting out of hand in the state. What is truly happening to workers salaries and allowances?

“We do not understand why government should be remote controlling our salaries from one source,” the aggrieved workers lamented.

The workers were particularly irked that they could no longer take care of their family responsibilities due to non-payment of their statutory salaries.

“We know that the state government has been collecting huge funds from the federation account, for the 27 local government areas of the state. This is shocking,” they said.

Another female staff wondered how Governor Rochas Okorocha would continue claiming that his administration was people-oriented when he failed to pay salaries.

“Non-payment of workers salaries is a minus for he administration. If workers did not down tools, nobody would have known what we have been suffering over time,” she lamented.

A health worker in the council grieved that the immunization programme scheduled for tomorrow might be seriously affected by the current protest.

Efforts made to reach any of the labour leaders for comments failed as they were said to be meeting somewhere to discuss the situation on ground.