Disabled persons in Imo protest over neglect by state government

By The Citizen

Disabled persons in Imo on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest against the state government's alleged inability to fulfill its promises to them.

The protesters who came out in their numbers on Wednesday claimed that Gov. Rochas Okorocha had failed to give them their subvention and employ them in the state civil service.

During the protest, they blocked major roads like the Warehouse-Orlu road for about five hours, leading to traffic logjam in the state capital.

The protesters, who refused to discontinue with the exercise even in the presence of armed policemen, said the protest would last for a week unless their demands were met by the governor.

The President of the group, Dr Stanley Nwachukwu, told newsmen that the governor had been insensitive to their plight.

“The governor has failed to fulfill the promises he made to us as disabled persons, even the allowances paid to us before Okorocha's assumption of office had been stopped.

“We will remain here for one week if nothing is done by the government, we don’t have houses and we don’t care what will happen.

“if after one week they refuse to listen to us, we will go for three days of break and  will return for the mother of all protests, which will last for a month,'' he said.

Nwachukwu listed some of the promises made to them by the governor to include the prompt payment of their subventions and the employment of their members into the state civil service.

Other promises were the appointment of their members into his cabinet as well as other forms of empowerment.

Reacting to the protest, the Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on Media, Mr Uche Onwuchekwa, said a committee chaired by the deputy governor had been inaugurated to look into their demands.

The association staged a similar protest last year.