Abia State Governor Alex Otti has reacted to the ongoing strike action by members of the Abia State chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, saying that the union’s leaders have refused to credit the workers with over three hundred million naira released by his administration.
Otti, who spoke at Queen Elizabeth Chapel in Umuahia on Sunday during the 2025 Armed Forces Celebration service, said his attention was drawn to newspaper reports where the NBA had advised him to pay judiciary workers.
Otti, who said that his administration is not owing workers, explained that leaders of JUSUN refused to participate in a minimum wage negotiation organised by his administration but opted to prepare their own calculations in their office, which he said was discovered to be filled with errors.
According to him: “On the 24th of December, we remitted N283,242,318.50 to the judiciary.
“Interestingly, as of this morning, they have refused to pay their workers. Now, the judiciary is an arm of government that is independent. Our job is to remit the money to their account, and their job is to pay their workers.”
Otti said that he approved an additional N27 million for the judiciary workers and paid their thirteenth-month salary, wondering why they remained on strike.
The governor advised judiciary workers to hold their union leaders responsible and also advised the Nigerian Bar Association to properly understand the situation.
He used the church service to reassure the retired and serving men of the Nigerian Armed Forces that his administration would continue to support them.
In his remarks, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Legion, Commodore Ekekwe Duroha (retd), said surviving ex-servicemen and widows of retired officers should be assisted in this hard economic situation.
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