LOAN GIVES GOVERNMENT 21 DAYS ULTIMATUM TO COMMENCE INDEFINITE STRIKE OVER DISPARITY IN WELFARE OF JUDICIARY STAFF.

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By: Publisher.

The leadership of the Law Officers Association of Nigeria Cross River State Chapter have given the State Government a 21 days ultimatum to implement it’s demands for a 50% increment on salaries in accordance with parity and enumeration salaries and benefits between Law Officers and Magistrate workers since June 2022.

 

In a Communique signed by the State Chairman, Dr. Akwagiobe Richard Akpanke Esq. and made available to Epistlenews, the Association decried financial limitations faced by Law Officers while carrying out Court processes within the State; therefore demanding a special monthly allowance of one hundred thousand (#100,000) naira tagged “Litigation Allowance”to be paid to law officers.

 

The Association further urge the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, to as a matter of urgency wade into the issue to avert any industrial tension with attendant disruptive consequences on the State Judiciary.

 

It will be recall that the State Governor had approved the 50% increment for Magistrates beginning from August, 2022, neglecting same implementation to Law Officers.

In the Strike Notice to the Governor, through the Head of Service, and copying the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, thus:

RE: NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING APPROVAL FOR PARITY

BETWEEN LAW OFFICERS AND MAGISTRATESIN THE RECENT 50%

SALARY INCREMENT FOR MAGISTRATES.

 

NOTICE OF STRIKE.

 

1. Your Excellency, it is with excruciating pains of neglect, anguish and frustration that the law officers of the State are constrained to cause this notice of strike to be issued to His Excellency over the refusal of the implementation of the existing approval of parity between the magisterial cadre and the Law Officers in respect of the recent 50% increment for

magistrates which is yet to be implemented in favour of the Law Officers Cadre.

 

2. Historically, Your Excellency is prayed to note that the law officers cadre

before 2002 enjoyed more attractive conditions of service than magistrates with all law officers having 3 domestic staff while magistrates enjoyed only 2 domestic staff. Also, while the magisterial cadre peaked at GL 16, the law officer cadre peaked at GL 17. However, in 2002, in order to end the disparity between both cadres of lawyers working for Government, law officers were downgraded as it were to earn 2 domestic staff as magistrates. Subsequently, the magisterial cadre was elongated to GL 17 to be at par with the Law Officers cadre. Your Excellency, it is in this same spirit of parity that both law officers and magistrates of same

cadre have enjoyed same salary and remuneration until August of 2022

when His Excellency approved a 50% salary increment for the magistrates

and neglected same implementation to the Law Officers.

3. Your Excellency, the oversight or neglect in implementation was promptly brought to the knowledge of His Excellency through the Attorney General, culminating in the Attorney General’s memo tilted “Inclusion of

Law Officers’ in the 50% Enhanced salary Package for Magistrates” to His Excellency. The said memo and the request is yet to get a feedback to the displeasure of Law Officers. This has continued to create disparity with the situation where lower ranks of Magistrate earn a salary higher than a substantive Director Law Officer even though Law Officers are the ones directly involved in day to day legal services for the Government and her MDAs.

 

4. Therefore after waiting for almost a full year since the implementation of

the increment and after exhausting all appeals on the subject, it is the resolution of the law officers of the State that a 21-day notice be served

Government for the full implementation of the demands of the law officers

for the 50% increment in salary hitherto extended to the magisterial cadre

for which implementation has gone on since June 2022.

 

5. Additionally, the Law officers are demanding for a special Allowance called “Litigation Allowance”, the justification for this allowance is because in the past eight years Law Officers have been saddled with the cost of prosecuting matters in court either defending the government or prosecuting offenders in the public interest, without any form of support

from Government. There are about 90 courts spread across the length and breadth of the state with the Calabar metropolis housing about 40 of those

Law Officers are now compelled to type and file all court process in addition to traversing the entire state from Calabar to Yala defending suits running into billions of Naira against the state all from the meager salaries currently paid to us. This is not only unjust but downright unconscionable for employees to spend an average of 30% of their salaries for court processes and travel. Consequently, it is imperative to

demand that a special allowance tagged “Litigation Allowance” in the sum of N100, 000 be paid to each Law Officer monthly to meet these needs.

 

6. Further, we notify that at the expiration of 21 days from the delivery of this memorandum to Your Excellency, Law Officers shall withdraw their services indefinitely. We urge Your Excellency to weigh in on this matter to avert undue industrial tension with attendant disruptive consequences on the Justice sector of the State.

7. Your Excellency may therefore wish to exercise his executive powers to end the privations of law officers and save the State needless hardship that will be occasioned by our strike action by directing the bureaucracy to immediately effect the following:

 

a) implementation of a 50% increment in the salary of Law Officers as is currently implemented for the magisterial cadre since June 2022 in accordance with the parity of remuneration of salaries and benefits between the law officers and the magisterial cadre:

 

b) PAYMENT of a special allowance tagged “Litigation Allowance” in the

sum of N100, 000 to each Law Officer monthly to obviate expenses incurred in litigation for the State.

 

Yours very respectfully,

Akwagiobe, Richard Akpanke Esq (Ph.D)

Chairman

Amawu Cletus Albert Amawu

I'm a Journalist, Host/Producer of The Verdict, your voice of conscience on FAD FM 93.1, Calabar, Public Affairs Commentator, Social Change Agent.

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