Otti Passes The Buck Over Abia Judiciary Workers’ Salary

The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has clarified that his administration does not owe judiciary workers, contrary to claims from the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).

Speaking at an interdenominational thanksgiving service in Umuahia on Sunday, Otti addressed the accusations, saying the judiciary itself was responsible for not paying its staff.

He explained that the delay in payments was due to a lack of cooperation from the judiciary workers. “Yesterday, I saw in the newspapers that the Nigerian Bar Association was advising me to pay, and I thought they should have known better,” Otti remarked. “This is a government that does not owe, and it is untrue that judiciary workers have not been paid.”

Governor Otti continued, saying that the delay started when the minimum wage was increased. His administration had been in talks with the judiciary, but the workers refused to meet with the government and instead conducted their own review of the situation. “They sat in the comfort of their offices and did their own review. The matter got serious, and I had to intervene,” he said.

Upon his intervention, Otti, along with the Chief Judge, reviewed the workers’ calculations and discovered several errors. After correcting these mistakes, the governor approved ₦27 million and also authorized a 13th-month salary for the workers. Despite this, Otti expressed regret that the judiciary had not distributed the funds.

“I worked with the Accountant General, Commissioner for Justice, and Commissioner for Finance to ensure everything was settled by December 24, 2024, and on that day, we remitted ₦283,242,318.50 to the judiciary,” Otti explained. “However, as of this morning (Sunday), they have not paid their workers.”

Otti emphasized that while the government’s role was to remit the funds, the responsibility of paying the workers lies with the judiciary. He also revealed that he approved an additional ₦27 million, bringing the total to approximately ₦300 million, and authorized the payment of the 13th-month salary to the workers.
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