Abia State Governor Alex Otti has responded to the ongoing strike by members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in Abia, claiming that the union’s leadership has failed to allocate over three hundred million naira that was released by his administration for worker salaries.
Speaking at the 2025 Armed Forces Celebration service held at Queen Elizabeth Chapel in Umuahia on Sunday, Otti mentioned that he had seen newspaper articles where the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) urged him to ensure payment for judiciary workers.
He emphasized that his administration is not in debt to any workers, noting that JUSUN leaders declined to take part in a minimum wage negotiation organized by his government, preferring instead to devise their calculations, which he described as riddled with mistakes.
Otti stated, “On December 24, we transferred N283,242,318.50 to the judiciary. However, as of this morning, they have not disbursed these funds to their employees. The judiciary operates as an independent branch of government; our responsibility is to deposit the money into their account, and they must pay their staff.”
He also revealed that he had approved an extra N27 million for the judiciary workers and had ensured their thirteenth-month salary was paid, questioning the reason behind the continued strike.
The governor urged judiciary workers to hold their union leaders accountable and advised the Nigerian Bar Association to gain a clearer understanding of the situation.
During the church service, Otti took the opportunity to reaffirm his administration’s commitment to supporting both active and retired members of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
