The Coalition of Imo Youths, has descended heavily on Governor Hope Uzodimma and his APC government for renting a crowd to protest against former governor, Rt.Hon. Emeka Ihedioha., his deputy, Chief Gerald Irona and erstwhile secretary to state government, Barrister Uche Onyeagucha.
In a release made available to journalists, Comrade Peter Ebenike, the coordinator of the group, noted that it was grossly insensitive of the governor to have recruited a crowd of jobless youths and hungry pensioners to protest against top functionaries of immediate past administration.
According to him, “We, the members of Coalition of Imo Youths, are not in support of insecurity and other forms of criminal activities currently ravaging our state.
“It’s saddening that rather than Governor Hope Uzodimma to find the causes of these anomalies and then proffer a lasting solution to them, the governor is busy fighting innocent people who disagree with him politically.
“We urge the Imo State Government to create jobs as well as empower the youths rather than using them as canon folders.
“May be, the reason for not creating jobs or putting down empowerment schemes in the state for the youths is to us for protests and other mischievous assignments”.
Ebenike observed that there were equally few aged men and women who participated in the said protest identified as pensioners.
He said, “We now fully understand why many pensioners in the state are being labeled as ghosts. The “ghost” pensioners are those the Imo State Government has refused to pay their rightful monthly pensions.
“It now turns around to use the resources ordinarily earmarked for such purpose to hire a crowd of jobless youths and hungry pensioners to participate in a purely political protests targeted against innocent Imolites. This is certainly unacceptable to us”,
There was a pocket of protests around the government house, with placards indicating that Ihedioha, Irona and Onyeagucha were responsible for the insecurity in the state.
The Imo Youths Vanguard is insisting that the protest on Thursday was politically motivated and out of order.
