The Abia State Government has called on the Abia State chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria to suspend its ongoing industrial action and present verifiable records supporting its claim of unpaid leave allowances. The government also assured that any confirmed arrears would be settled within 48 hours of verification.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Ikechukwu, SAN, made the clarification on Thursday in Umuahia during a press briefing on the strike. He was joined by the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, as well as the Accountant General of the state.
He explained that the union had earlier submitted a request for payment of leave allowance, but the Office of the Accountant General asked for proper documentation showing how the figures were computed and confirmation that such payments were not already embedded in their salaries. According to him, those details have not yet been provided by the union.
Uwanna further stated that findings from the Accountant General’s office indicate that the consolidated salary structure of judiciary workers already includes a component referred to as “leave bonus,” which corresponds to the allowance being demanded by JUSUN. He therefore insisted that the union must provide evidence that this component does not already exist before any additional payment can be made.
He added that once the required verification is completed and it is established that no such payment exists within the salary structure, the government would immediately release payment within 48 hours.
According to him, “consolidated salary” implies that all entitlements are packaged into a single structure and paid accordingly. He also referenced federal practices, noting that similar consolidated arrangements exist where separate leave allowances are not paid to certain categories of workers.
The Attorney General also raised concerns over the ongoing verification process for judiciary staff, alleging that efforts to conduct staff verification have been resisted by the union. He said this has affected the smooth processing of pension payments for retired judiciary workers.
He recalled that following the assumption of office by Governor Alex Otti, a statewide civil service verification exercise was initiated. However, judiciary staff were initially excluded due to concerns over institutional independence, with plans later made for a dedicated verification exercise for them.
He noted that the planned verification exercise was scheduled to commence on the same day the strike began, describing the timing as unfortunate and urging cooperation from the union to ensure transparency and proper payroll management.
The Attorney General also appealed to JUSUN to suspend the strike in the interest of pensioners, stressing that many retired judiciary workers are currently unable to access their entitlements due to the stalled verification process.
“The verification is necessary so pensioners can be properly documented and paid,” he said, adding that the process would be carried out through a dedicated electronic platform for judiciary staff.
The Accountant General, Njum Onyemanam, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to timely salary and pension payments, noting that disbursements are typically made on or before the 28th of every month.
She emphasized that the judiciary must provide verifiable documentation to support any claims for additional payments, especially regarding leave allowances, before such requests can be processed.
Also present at the briefing were the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Kingsley Nwokocha, and the Senior Special Assistant on Labour Relations, Sir Comrade Godson Ańucha, among others.
