Cross River State Govt. Increases Judicial Officers’ Salary by 100%

Cross River State governor, Professor Ben Ayade has approved the upward review of the salaries and welfare of judicial officers in the state.

Governor Ayade announced the new salary package at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Calabar, during the swearing-in of the new President of Cross River Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Anjor Mbe.

In the new salary regime, which takes effect from August 1, 2022, the salaries of the state’s high court judges will be increased by 100 percent.

Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal will also have their salaries increased by 100 percent while those of Magistrates will be increased by 50 percent.

Similarly, the governor also granted all judicial officers in the state immediate land allocation.

Ayade said, ”As a matter of state government’s policy, any judicial officer sworn-in will have his or her official car ready for delivery.“

Announcing approval for new recruitment into the state’s judicial service, the governor said: “We have witnessed massive vacancy in the Ministry of Justice occasioned by retirement.”

“To this effect, we have approved for the Chief Judge with the support of the Head of Service and the Civil Service Commission, the employment of 500 workers in the Ministry of Justice for the first phase alone.”

While expressing optimism that he has addressed the immediate challenges of the state judiciary, Gov. Ayade pledged his administration’s readiness to support that arm of government from time to time as the need arises.

The governor added that he acted in concert with the report of the State Judicial Welfare Review Committee which he set up in April.

It would be recalled that the Committee which had retired Justice Eyo Effiong Ita as Chairman and the state’s Head of Service, Timothy Ogbang Akwaji as Secretary, was charged with reviewing the salaries of Cross River state judicial officers.

Vanguard/Maxwell Oyekunle