The 29 magistrates of Cross Rivers State have on Monday embarked on an angry protest over the non-payment of their salaries by the state government for 26 months.
This would be the second time since this year that the disgruntled magistrates would be protesting the failure of the Ben Ayade-led government to pay them their accumulated salaries.
On Monday, the placard-wielding magistrates gathered at the entrance of the Governor’s office to express their disenchantment with what they saw as the oppressive negligence of their welfare by the governor.
A Chief Magistrate Solomon Abuo, who led the protesting magistrates said since the government promised to look at their issue at a January meeting, there had been no positive development on it.
“That meeting took place on January 19, so we waited till the end of January and nothing happened. So, we went to the deputy governor and he told us that they couldn’t conclude their work within one week.
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“He told us that it won’t be possible for us to receive January salaries, that we will start receiving our salaries from February because by then they will be done with their report.
“Even when Mr Olumide Akpata president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) came down to Calabar and had a meeting with the state government and proffered suggestions on how the issue could be resolved, nothing was done.
“Recently we learnt that the committee had completed its work and sent its recommendations to the governor and the governor has still refused to act on it.
“We have given the governor enough time and made some concessions which are four possible options on how to add us to the payroll system and pay us but nothing is being done.
“If the government was sincere, it would have taken one of the options but the report was sent before February salaries were paid, now we are in March making it 26 months,” Abuo said.
