Market men and women operating under the umbrella of Imo State Amalgamated Market and Traders Association (ISAMATA) have embarked on a protest against the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Joe Ajaero, lamenting that the Labour leader is unmindful of the hardship they are currently facing by calling for a strike in Imo State.
The traders have therefore vowed to resist any attempt by the Ajaero-led Labour or any other group for that matter that wants to worsen the excruciating hardship they are passing through as a result of high cost of fuel, cash crunch due to the Naira redesign, lack of power supply, among others.
Leading their members to protest to Governor Hope Uzodimma at the Government House in Owerri on Friday, President of ISAMATA, Comrade Ezeanochie Emmanuel, said that Ajaero was unreasonable to have called for strike in Imo when there was no need for such, insisting that their members would resist any plan to truncate the peace in the State.
Governor Uzodimma, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku, assured the leadership and members of ISAMATA of standing with them in their move towards resisting man-made difficulties they are facing in the state currently that make live unbearable for their members.
The Deputy Governor reminded the traders that “the Government of Senator Uzodimma has the welfare of the people as its primary business and will not stand by to see anybody come to Imo State to impose hardship on her citizens.”
He said that: “The 3R administration is a government that likes to see hardworking people such as ISAMATA get benefit for their hard work. The government will be happy that genuine traders make gains from their businesses, that civil servants get their salaries and entitlements at the end of the month and in the same manner pensioners get their full month pensions at the end of every month.”
Prof Njoku added that the government has been sensitive to the need of the people, reiterating that Governor Uzodimma had asked him to inform ISAMATA that “his government will stand up to resist any directive or order coming from anywhere that will impinge on the freedom and welfare and even livelihood of Imo citizens.”