The Special Adviser to Delta state Governor on Labour Relations and SERVICOM, Mr. Mike Okeme on Wednesday escaped been lynched by teachers during the Delta state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), election held at the La-Diva Hotel, along Labour House Road off Okpanam Road, Asaba.
Okeme, former state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), who stormed the venue of the election with persons suspected to be political thugs in an attempt to smuggled in fake carton of ballot papers to use in delivering governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s preferred chairmanship candidate, Mr. Tomothy Chukunwosa Umukoro, was chased out of the venue.
Okeme’s intentions, HardReporters Education correspondent learnt was to add up the smuggled fake ballot papers to the ones been collated so as to deliver the governor’s candidate against the popular and the majority choice, Mr. Titus Okotie, who later won the election despite the governor’s script that was played by Okeme to impose a Delta North candidate on the teachers.
Some of the teachers who spoke to our correspondent confessed they decided to show solidarity to their popular and well accepted candidate and shunned all forms of intimidation from the state governor who has through his aide threatened to deal cruelly with them should they throw their weights behind their choice candidate.
“We are very mad at governor Okowa, for over their five months now no salaries and he expect us to do his biddings by voting for the candidate of his choice. We have disappointed him because we vowed to do everything humanly possible to stop Okowa from imposing the state chairman of NUT on us. Because once he have his way that means NUT has been hijacked.” a teacher told our correspondent.
Our Correspondent who monitored the election also observed that Governor Okowa through his aide, Okeme and Commissioner for Secondary and Basic Education, Mr. Chiedu Ebie had before the election threatened to sanction some Education Secretaries across the state, if they aligned themselves with the unpaid teachers to vote out government candidate.
It was also gathered that spies were sent by government officials to monitor those
Education Secretaries during the election as all effort by some few of the secretaries for fear of been sanctioned did all possible tricks to enthrone government candidate but to no avail.
The teachers however ignored the presence of the government spies and dished out protest votes against the government candidate and as the election was still on, Delegates were already jubilating because they were sure of their candidate, Okotie, winning the election.
In an interview with HardReporters, Secretary Ukwuani local government chapter of NUT, Mr. Ogonegbu Nathaniel revealed that at the end of the election the governor’s aide on Labour tried to sneak into the venue again the second time but was not allowed and in the process a man was apprehended trying to smuggle the same fake carton of ballot papers through one of the side doors.
Another teacher who pleaded anonymity said Okeme’s mission to the election venue was a clandestine move, aimed at ensuring that the government’s candidate emerged but was rattled.
A teacher from Ughelli North chapter of the Union who simply identified herself as Onajite, said, “The jubilation shows a clear victory, teachers interest should be protected”, calling on government to pay salaries as at when due especially to the primary school teachers whom she said are suffering over non-payment of salaries.
“Promotion should be given to teachers who are due for promotion. Teachers should no longer be shortchanged. The money used in buying the clock in machine would have been used to pay teachers’ salaries”, she insisted.
Another source who spoke under strict anonymity said “Okowa should remember that general elections are coming ahead, he should rather know that as he is fighting to impose a chairman on us, we can decide to boycott the 2019 governorship election”, adding that if the governor was afraid of the teachers choice, he should rather parley to see how to better the lots of teachers and not to threaten them.
