For more than one month now, the women engaged to be sweeping the streets and roads of Owerri, the Imo state capital on a daily basis have embarked on strike.
Following their refusal to sweep, the environment is littered with different dirts including sachets of water, plastic bottles, dried leaves, pieces of papers, nylons, among others at every corner of the city, Blueprint reports.
Blueprint correspondent further reports that the women had two weeks ago, stormed the Imo state government house where they protested their non’ payment of five months’ salaries and sometimes under-payment, but this did not yield any dividends.
When Governor Hope Uzodimma was asked on a radio programme at the weekend to comment on the allegation, he exonerated his government and instead heaped the blame on a company saddled with the responsibility of engaging and paying the women.
He made it clear that the sweepers were not on government’s pay roll.
The governor however, failed to profer solution to the problem of non- payment which was why the women resumed protest on Tuesday.
At the moment, experts have said residents are at the risk of contaminating diseases.
