Chief Judge withdraws services of protesting Magistrates
Cross Rivers State has asked Magistrates protesting over unpaid two years salaries to vacate their seats until the issue of their salaries is resolved.
A statement issued by the Registrar,Edem N. Okokon quoted the Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Eyo Effiom as saying ” in view of the state Government inability to pay your salariy since February 2019, you are hereby withdrawn from sitting in court till further notice”
The statement said there was no reason to allow them to continue with work without pay as they might be entrapped in corruption along the way.
According to the statement, the directive became neccessary in view of such reports already received against some of the Magistrates adding that it was in the interest of the judiciary for them to stay at home .
Payment of wages is a fundamental right of a worker hence the protest of 29 Magistrates in the Cross Rivers Judiciary.
The Magistrates who occupied the gate of the state governors office a couple of weeks ago demanded the payment of 24 months unpaid salaries saying that all efforts to bring the governmentt to understand their plight proved abortive.
Cross Rivers Governor,Prof, Ben Ayade had many times rolled out his achievements and development agenda to the Media,
But the governor’s success reportedly skips the area of workers interest and welfare.
In August 2020, Some senior staff of governmentt establishments had a face off with the governor over months of unpaid salaries and forceful take over of the Cross Rivers Property and Investment Company ‘s building which the governor reportedly converted to a skills acquisition centre.
The order to withhold workers entitlements appears to be an orchestrated pattern to frustrate people out of jobs at a time so difficult to address social challenges.
Some Nigerians who reacted to the governmentt order asked”What will it take the government to pay the salaries of the Magistrates? What does the government intend to gain by subjecting the Magistrates to further hunger and pain ? What is the real purpose of governance if workers welfare are viciously ignored? ” They added.
