Protesting pensioners and students ground Owerri

Traffic was held for several hours, yesterday, in Owerri, especially
at the Wetheral/Okigwe Road roundabout, following the peaceful protest
carried out by scores of senior citizens in Imo State.
Some of the angry retirees, including the State Chairman of Nigerian
Union of Pensioners, NUP, Chief G. Ezeji, who defied the heavy
downpour experienced in the municipality, said that they were prepared
to remain at the roundabout for as long as their failing health could
allow.
The angry pensioners, who rebuffed entreaties by the state
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, virtually chased away the
Commissioner for Internally Generated Revenue and Pension Matters, Dr.
Vitalis Ajumbe, insisting that they wanted to hear directly from the
governor.
The situation became more complex when students joined the protest, as
they equally outlined a litany of their worries.

Students protest:

Meanwhile, the students of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri,
FEDPONEK, and Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, have
described the state government as being insensitive to their plights.
The students numbering over 900, marched from their various
institutions to the state capital, demanding that the government
should come and make their roads motorable.
They also displayed their placards which read, 'We are dying here,'
'Where is the Rescue Mission?' 'Are these institutions not in Imo
State, we are tired of promises,' 'Come and repair our roads,' among
others.
the Presidents of the Students' Union Government, SUG, of FEDPONEK and
FUTO, Comrades Ike Emmanuel and Ezenwa Obinna, respectively said that
they would continue the protest until their demands were not only
given attention but also solved.