We are not owing judiciary workers – Abia gov

According to Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, the state government does not owe any members of the Nigerian Judiciary Staff Union in the state.

The governor stated that N30 million had been given to the union in order to compensate members during an interdenominational Thanksgiving ceremony held in the state capital of Umuahia on Sunday in observance of Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

In response to the state's court workers' ongoing strike, Otti said that a newspaper article had drawn his attention to the problem.
He maintained that his government owes no employees anything.

However, he clarified that the court staff's leadership declined to meet with the administration to discuss the new minimum salary.

"I noticed in the newspapers yesterday that the Nigerian Bar Association was recommending that I pay (judiciary workers), and I felt that the Nigerian Bar Association ought to have known better," he stated.

"First and foremost, you should be aware that this government is debt-free. Therefore, the claim that judiciary employees have not received compensation is incorrect.Like the Nigerian Labour Congress, we began interacting with them when the minimum wage was raised.

It's interesting that they declined to join the government for a meeting. The situation was becoming a little more serious as they conducted their own review while lounging in the luxury of their offices.

As a result, I had to step in and speak with the Chief Judge, who requested them to produce their calculations. After reviewing their calculations, we discovered numerous mistakes, which we fixed.

The governor claims that on December 24, 2024, he met with the government team to discuss the pay of judiciary employees.

"I set out to make sure that by December 24, 2024, I worked with the Commissioner for Justice, the Commissioner for Finance, and the Accountant General. We came to an agreement over their salaries, and on that day, we sent N283,242,318.50 to the judiciary.

It's interesting that they haven't paid their employees as of this morning. The judiciary is now a separate branch of the government. Our responsibility is to remit the money to their account, and their job is to pay their workers.
Otti clarified, "I even approved additional money for the thirteenth-month salary that I paid other people, and I approved another N27 million to make it about N300 million, which they should have received as well."

Otti had already praised the Nigerian Legion and the country's military forces as a whole, saying they should be honoured.

The reality is that making compromises is difficult, Otti stated. You know you have a 50/50 probability of dying when you join up for a job.

Therefore, you deserve to be honoured for making that choice, and we are doing just that today.

"We want to honour the deceased heroes as well, and now that we have capable leadership, I would like the Nigerian Legion's special adviser on security to meet with the leadership to discuss how we can help you and your family.

"Therefore, we are not only commemorating today, but we are also honouring you, the unwavering men and women of our military, for the day and night you dedicate to keeping us asleep."

Nothing can measure their sacrifices, said Ekekwe Duroha, State Chairman of the Nigeria Legion, who thanked God for the day to honour those serving the country and commemorate their deceased colleagues.

Duroha also noted that members of the armed forces pass through lots of hardship in the line of duty and called on all to always uphold them in prayers.