The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has ordered the Rivers State Government to pay outstanding salaries owed to teachers of Demonstration Secondary School, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, bringing to a close a prolonged legal battle over unpaid wages dating back to 2016.
The appellate court, in a judgment delivered by a three-member panel, upheld an earlier ruling of the National Industrial Court which declared the stoppage of the teachers’ salaries unlawful.
The dispute began in 2016 after the administration of former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, directed that salaries of the affected teachers be discontinued.
Following the directive, the management of the university reportedly stopped the salaries of about 97 teachers attached to the institution’s Demonstration Secondary School.
Despite several appeals by the affected workers, the salaries were not restored, prompting the teachers to seek legal redress.
In its 2018 judgment, the National Industrial Court ruled that the teachers remained employees of the institution and described the salary stoppage as unlawful. However, the court declined to compel immediate payment of the arrears, citing disparities in salary structures and allowances among the claimants.
Dissatisfied with parts of the ruling, the Rivers State Government appealed the judgment, while the teachers filed a cross-appeal challenging the refusal of the lower court to order payment of the outstanding salaries.
Counsel to the teachers, Emeka Dite Ojoko, said the Appeal Court dismissed the state government’s appeal and upheld the cross-appeal filed by the affected staff.
According to him, the court subsequently ordered the Rivers State Government and the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education to pay all outstanding salaries owed to the teachers from February 2016 until full compliance with the judgment.
Ojoko described the ruling as a major victory for the affected workers after years of legal struggle.
He clarified that the judgment applies strictly to staff of the Demonstration Secondary School and does not extend to teachers of other institutions, including the International Secondary School of Rivers State University and Comprehensive Secondary School, Bori, where separate cases are still pending.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Rivers State Government were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
