Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has commenced payment of eight years arrears to judiciary workers
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mr. Kazie Uko, who disclosed this in a statement, said the payment was in fulfillment of the promise by the governor in June, 2023 shortly after his assumption of office.
Chairman of the state Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Oracle Chinedu Eze, expressed their gratitude to the governor for fulfilling his promise to pay off their salary arrears, which he made to them in June, 2023.
He recalled that judiciary workers, who had been owed since January 2015, had embarked on an indefinite strike against the immediate past state government under Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, to press for the payment shortly before Governor Otti assumed office on May 29, 2023.
The CPS stated that it was “in fulfillment of that promise, that the state Government has begun payment of the consolidated salary arrears of the members of JUSUN, who have since confirmed that they have started receiving the arrears owed them”.
Reacting to the payment of the arrears, the state JUSUN chairman said: “It is with a grateful heart full of joy and happiness that I, on behalf of the entire Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria members and executives, wish to appreciate you (Otti) for the first batch of the Consolidated Judiciary Staff Salary (CONJUSS) arrears paid yesterday (November 15, 2023). We are most grateful and thankful Sir. May Almighty God bless you mightily, Amen.”
Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Otti on Due Process, Dr Oluebube Chukwu has said the due process put in place by the governor has effectively enhanced businesses in the state
He also the state government would not renege on its commitments of guaranteeing Ease of Doing Business in the state by sustaining provision of legal frameworks that would protect business, through the Due Process Office, Ministry of Justice, including mandating government agencies to honour contractual obligations, obey and abide by court judgments.
The SSA, who made the remarks while delivering a lecture, titled “Ease of Doing Business, Abia State in Focus”, during a “two-day Roundtable on Ease of Doing Business in Abia state,” attributed the reemerging of businesses in the state to the governor’s sustained determination to provide the conducive enabling environment or ease of doing business.
During the roundtable, sponsored by the state government, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and held at Rapha Hotel, Umuahia , the state capital, the SSA listed some of the ease of doing business measures by the governor as: introduction of unified taxation system, blocked leakages and improved internally generated revenues.
