Six Years Without Pay: Imo LG Workers Cry Out to Uzodimma as Colleagues Die, Retire Without Salaries

Workers of the Imo State Local Government Service Commission across the 27 local government areas have appealed to Governor Hope Uzodimma to urgently intervene over alleged unpaid salaries and arrears dating back to 2020.
The affected workers, in a letter dated September 3, 2026, said they had endured six years without receiving their salaries despite participating in official government exercises, including promotions, conversions, transfers and deployments.
They alleged that the prolonged non-payment had subjected them and their families to severe hardship, while some of their colleagues had died and others retired without receiving their outstanding salaries and benefits.
The workers said Governor Uzodimma had on March 6, 2026, at Ndubuisi Kalu Square, Heroes Square, New Owerri, directed the Chairman of the Imo State Local Government Service Commission to ensure that they were paid after their re-verification.
However, they said more than five months after the directive, they had yet to receive payment.
According to them, their continued recognition through government activities, including promotion and conversion exercises, demonstrated that they remained employees of the commission.
They said some affected workers were promoted, while others were converted to the officers’ cadre and assigned statutory positions in various local government councils.
The workers also said some of them were transferred from one local government area to another and deployed to various duty posts despite their outstanding salaries.
They disclosed that several attempts by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to resolve the matter, including intervention by its national secretariat, had not yielded the desired result.
The workers listed 11 colleagues whom they said had died amid the hardship associated with the prolonged salary non-payment. They also identified 20 others who had retired without receiving their salaries.
One other worker, Mr Iheboro Anthony of Mbaitoli Local Government Area, was identified as bedridden after suffering a stroke and requiring urgent assistance.
The workers are asking the governor to order the immediate payment of all salary arrears from 2020 to date and establish a task force to ensure compliance with his earlier directive.
They also requested emergency medical assistance for sick workers, compassionate support for families of deceased workers and payment of outstanding benefits to retirees.
The affected employees said they had opted for an appeal rather than a protest because they did not want their actions to be misconstrued.
They urged Governor Uzodimma to personally intervene, saying their continued stay without salaries had become unbearable.
The workers maintained that their demand was simply for the payment of salaries and arrears they said had remained outstanding since 2020, as well as assistance for colleagues and families affected by the prolonged hardship.