Magistrates in Cross River State have embarked on protest against what they called 24 months salary arrears.
The magistrates who marched to the state governor’s office in Calabar over the non-payment of their 24 months salaries reportedly came from the 18 local government areas of Cross River state.
The New Diplomat checks reveal that the protesting magistrates blocked the second gate leading to the governor’s office in Calabar.
The protesting magistrates carried various placards with inscriptions such as ‘No Bliss, no blush, we are not crystallised, Cross River State Magistrates in penury’; ‘We have right to employment’; ‘Magistrates in Cross River State are thrown out of their rented apartments, Ayade pay us’.
Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved Magistrates, the Chief Magistrate in the state, Solomon Abuo, said the protest is their last resort as all other logical efforts to engage with Governor Ben Ayade has failed.
He said:“We are protesting the non-payment of our 24 months salary, this is January and we have been discharging our duties to the state government.
“We have courts that we are heading and we have been working for the state government to bring about peace and tranquility to the society, yet the governor does not deem it fit to pay us our salaries despite our entreaties, pleas, letters, correspondences, screening upon screening.
“After our employment and swearing in, we have undergone a further four screenings. After each of them, the governor will ignore the report requesting him to pay us our salaries. So this is our last resort.
“Right now we have 30 Magistrates affected across the 18 LGAs of the state. Funny enough, the governor’s local government has the highest number (11 magistrates who are affected) and the state does not care.”
He added further: “Is it wrong for one to serve the state? As Judicial officers, are we supposed to go through this kind of humiliation? That’s the question we want answers to.
“Last year one of the Magistrates was arraigned before a fellow Magistrate for inability to pay house rent. Most of us can’t pay our house rents, we are squatting with colleagues and all that.
“Our prayer is that our 24 months salary be paid with immediate effect otherwise we will continue this protest and stop sittings in court until we are paid.”
However, the Cross River state governor, Prof Ben Ayade and his deputy, Prof Ivara Esu, were not in office while the protest lasted. Correspondingly, no government official was on hand to address the protesting magistrates.
Repeated efforts to reach Christian Ita, Governor Ayade’s spokesman was not possible as his phone was switched off.
