What ties  Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to  Roman Empire's Nerō Claudius Caesar Augustus? Ambition and lust for  power! In 64 AD, in order
to acquire space for a luxurious palatial  palace, Nero reportedly caused the Great Fire of Rome. He fiddled and sang while Rome burnt.


Fast-track to today, civil servants in Abia are dropping dead from starvation, ill-health and trauma over seven months unpaid salary. But the man responsible for their plight is busy feting rent-a-crowd consultants and doling out to them the cash which would have paid  substantial portions of the salary arrears.



That is Abia Gov Ikpeazu for you. The whole of July 2016 was dedicated to endorsement rallies, courtesy calls by personalities and groups to shore up his 

confidence and sagging morale  after an Abuja Federal High Court on June 27 sacked him as governor  over over perjury.


Abians were made to believe these rallies were spontaneous, however emerging evidence shows that rent-a-crowd consultants were contracted to run the

carnival


Theledgerng.com gathered  that while workers were coerced to attend the rallies or face victimisation, others were rented at a cost of  N2,000/person.



However, the workers who had not been paid for several months also benefited from the largesse. According to one (name withheld): “We have not seen or even smelled salary for the past 6 months, so any opportunity to make N2000 - N3000 now is very important and I will not allow such opportunity pass me my brother.



“I am purely here for money, whether Ikpeazu survives or not is not my business, I am here for the money we are promised. At least it will be enough to cook a pot of soup ” she proffered.



Another said:  "I work in Government House and if you look over there you will see our Government House Permanent Secretary, he ordered  us to be here, you can see  my colleagues over there and names of people that attended have already been compiled, to avoid victimization that is why am here”



The bubble however burst on the racket after over N50 million was milked  out of the governor for a wild goose chase  which gained the governor minimal

or zero milage. However, relief came the way of the embattled governor when the court of Appeal turned down the High Court's ruling and upheld his
victory. The suit has dragged to the Supreme Court.


Nothing is wrong when a politician whose popularity is nose-diving  decides to do something about it, however, it becomes morally reprehensible when it is done at the expense of another person's life or health, says experts in politics and governance



Yes, the civil servants in Abia are facing numerous health challenges and trauma as a result of being owed over seven moths salary arrears.



Rising from its National Executive Council meeting in Enugu,  Nigerian Medical Association Sunday affirmed that the  non-payment of workers’ salary in many states in the country has worsened the health condition of Abian workers and other  Nigerians.



In the communique, read by its President, Prof. Mike Ogirima, the NMA declared that  “The continuous handling with levity, of workers’ salaries by some state governors, is worsening the health of Nigerians which depend on out of pocket payments and also causes internal and external brain drain, thus undermining the training and quality of service rendered by health professionals,”



The Association urged  the Federal Government, to, as a matter of urgency, provide special bail-out funds for workers’ salaries and prevail on state governments to pay them as at when due.