The Abia State Government has urged the leadership of the striking members of the state chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to suspend their ongoing industrial action and allow verification of judiciary workers to enable retired staff receive their pension entitlements.
The government also assured that the controversial leave allowance or leave bonus would be paid within 48 hours if the union provides verifiable documents confirming it as part of the consolidated salary package for judiciary workers.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Ikechukwu Uwanna (SAN), gave the assurance on Thursday while briefing journalists at the Government House in Umuahia. He was flanked by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu; the Senior Special Assistant on Labour Relations; the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity; and the state Accountant-General.
Judiciary workers in the state have been on strike since March 15, 2026, shutting down Customary, Magistrates and High Courts across the state over alleged non-payment of their entitlements by the state government.
Uwanna explained that the JUSUN leadership had requested payment of leave allowance, after which the Office of the Accountant-General asked the union to provide details showing how the amount was calculated and evidence that such allowances had not been previously paid.
He said the government’s findings indicated that the consolidated salary structure for judiciary workers already includes a component described as a leave bonus, which it believes is the same as the leave allowance being demanded by the union.
“We asked the judiciary to provide evidence that there is no component of leave bonus in their salary. On March 13, we received a notice that government should pay them or they would embark on industrial action by midnight of March 15,” Uwanna said.
According to him, the concept of a consolidated salary package means that several benefits are merged into a single payment structure.
“Our findings also show that the Federal Government does not pay leave allowance to JUSUN members or other categories of workers such as medical doctors under the consolidated salary scheme,” he added.
On the issue of retired judiciary workers, the Attorney-General said efforts to verify staff had been repeatedly frustrated by the union, noting that the absence of verification was responsible for delays in the payment of pensions to retired judiciary staff.
He said judiciary workers were excluded from the verification exercise conducted for other civil servants because of the independence of the judiciary, but the government later initiated a separate verification exercise through an external consultant.
“Coincidentally, the day scheduled to begin the verification exercise – March 15 – was the same day the workers commenced their strike,” Uwanna said.
He called on the union to allow the verification process to proceed to enable pensioners receive their benefits.
“We urge JUSUN to allow the judiciary to verify its staff so that pensioners can be paid. These pensioners deserve their entitlements,” he said.
Also speaking, the Accountant-General of Abia State, Deaconess Njum Onyemanam, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to paying workers and pensioners on or before the 28th of every month.
She said the judiciary must submit the necessary documentation to facilitate payment processes.
“The only question we are asking the judiciary staff is to provide verifiable proof that leave allowances earned over the years were not paid,” she said, adding that the judiciary handles its own payroll.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Abia State chapter of JUSUN, Comrade Chinedu Ezeh, said the strike was primarily due to the state government’s failure to implement financial autonomy for the judiciary in line with a court ruling, rather than the dispute over leave allowance.
Ezeh explained that leave allowance and leave bonus are separate benefits, noting that while leave bonus is paid monthly, leave allowance is a separate entitlement paid once at 10 per cent of a worker’s gross salary.