The governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, and the state’s umbrella group of retired judges have agreed to form a joint committee to address the issue of unpaid benefits and pensions for the previous 16 years.
The accord was reached at an urgent gathering of retired judges from the State called by the Governor and convened at his country estate in Isiala Ngwa South LGA, Nvosi.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kazie Uko, informed the public of this development in a statement he released on Wednesday.
The retired judges, who were represented by the retired Chief Judge of Abia, Hon. Justice Sunday Imo, and their attorney, Awa Kalu, SAN, he said, agreed to immediately establish a committee to resolve the issue. He claimed that the emergency meeting, which was called at the Governor’s request, was used to offer a solution to the sufferings of retired judges in the State.
The spokesman for the governor added that since 2007, prior administrations in the state had not paid the former judges’ retirement benefits, which included gratuities, consolidated allowances, severance packages, pensions, and other entitlements.
Uko drew attention to the fact that following administrations made a number of promises either by authorizing payments or approving payments in installments, but none of the promises were kept.
“This led to the judges filing an action at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in 2020 to recover their entitlements.
“Sadly, as the court cases rage, some of these judges are said to have died without receiving their benefits, while many have become sick and unable to afford proper medical care.
“The immediate past government reportedly promised to pay N10 million every month, but only did so for one month.
” However, the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, desirous of bringing the sufferings of the retired jurists to an end, met with them on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in his residence in Nvosi, Isialangwa South and assured them of government’s resolve to bring their predicament to a close”, he said.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary explained that the committee would be constituted from among the retired judges, officials from Abia State Ministry of Justice and relevant officers of government, who would calculate and confirm the actual sum due to each of the retired judges or the beneficiaries of those deceased, and report back to the Governor within two weeks.
The statement further disclosed that the Attorney General of the State, Ikechuckwu Uwanna, who was also at the meeting, identified the initiative as a pragmatic strategy in liquidation of outstanding retirement benefits owed the retired judges.
“His Excellency decried how the State has rewarded its citizens who slaved for the peace, development and progress of Abia State with penury and promised to reverse the trend”, the statement quoted the Attorney General Uwanna as saying.