Disquiet Over Reign of Queries in Rivers Judiciary

The Rivers State Judiciary recently issued a mass of queries to its staff for reporting late to an official meeting.
Trouble was said to have started when, the management called for a meeting with the workforce, on January 9.
The meeting whose notice according to sources did not go round, was scheduled for 10am.
Those that arrived from a quarter past 10am, were shut out at the Ceremonial Court, venue of the meeting shut against them.
After a wait of about 30minutes, a list was sent out for attendance to be taken before they were allowed to join their colleagues who, already seated, had gone through several lectures.
This second batch of staff, partook in the sensitization lectures for well over an hour before the close of the event.
They, were however, shocked to receive a query from the management at the end of the month as well as a delay in the release of their dress allowance.
Meanwhile, their counterparts in a sister organization, the Customary Court of Appeal, received both their salary and dress allowance.
This development has left staff of the Rivers State High Court, traumatized, because their take-home pay, which, cannot even take them home, had since been expended, and the dress little allowance, usually used by them to augment, is now hanging.
They are lamenting that, their allowance is not up to half of that paid their CCA colleagues and so, should not be delayed or denied.
They wondered why the little they have was being denied them whereas they brought to the fore during the January 9 meeting, many incentives being denied them, even as they commended Governor Sim Fubara for the N100,000- Christmas bonus.
The six-man management body had denied knowledge of the existence of the incentives raised.
At the time of filing this report, the affected staff are still wondering what has gone wrong.
They are also wondering if their management had failed to recognize the fact that their establishment cuts across the 23 local government areas of the state with peculiar terrains and workforce some of who are working outside the state capital, including the bailiffs.
According to them, rather than withhold allowance, the management team should study the attendance register and if anyone is found wanting, punish offenders appropriately.