Appeal court orders Kogi to pay ex-deputy gov N1bn entitlements

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the application by the Kogi State Government seeking to stay execution of the judgement granting payment of outstanding entitlements of N1.07 billion to former deputy governor of the state, Elder Simon Achuba. Ruling on the motion for stay on Tuesday, Justice Okon Abang held that the notice […]

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the application by the Kogi State Government seeking to stay execution of the judgement granting payment of outstanding entitlements of N1.07 billion to former deputy governor of the state, Elder Simon Achuba.

Ruling on the motion for stay on Tuesday, Justice Okon Abang held that the notice of appeal challenging the order of the Court of Appeal and the stay of execution is incompetent as Kogi State has no right to appeal.

The Court of Appeal had, in its judgment of April 29, 2024, upheld the verdict of the National Industrial Court delivered in November 2020, and awarded the ex-deputy governor’s outstanding salaries and statutory allowances, which were calculated to N1,070,860,138.00.

However, due to the failure of the state government to comply with the judgement, Achuba filed a post-judgment appeal seeking the enforcement of the order, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeal on April 25, 2025, and forwarded a letter to the governor demanding compliance with the latest verdict.

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Counsel to the state government, Joseph Daudu (SAN), on May 2, 2025, filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, challenging the jurisdiction of the appellate court to hear the post-judgment application, arguing that it was an unrelated originating summons to the appeal arising from the National Industrial Court.

Ruling on the issue of jurisdiction, Justice Abang explained that the decision of April 25, 2025, was only to give effect or a consequential decision of the 29th April 2024 judgement, and not a fresh appeal, maintaining that the fact that there were two separate panels which presided over the matter does not make it different, but strictly an administrative arrangement.

“Failure of the applicant to comply with the judgment of the court dated 29th April 2024 is a deliberate, violent violation of the provision of Section 234(4) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that the decision of the court in respect of any appeal from the National Industrial Court shall be final,” he said.

 

Background

Achuba, who was controversially removed from office in 2019 after a fallout with then-Governor Yahaya Bello, had sued the state at the National Industrial Court (NICN) for withheld salaries, allowances, and statutory benefits.

In November 2020, the NICN ruled in his favour, awarding him N180 million and ordering payment within 30 days, with a 30 percent monthly interest for default.

Although the state appealed, the Court of Appeal on April 25, 2024, upheld Achuba’s claims and reassessed his entitlements at over N1 billion (N1,070,860,138).

The appellate court awarded him salaries, travel allowances, and statutory allocations provided in the 2017 and 2018 budgets, excluding security votes, and ordered an additional N2 million in costs.

However, the Kogi government has disputed the judgment. Its lawyer, O. Adegboyega, argued that the NICN only awarded N180 million, which the state claims to have already paid.

“The state is committed to due process and the rule of law,” Adegboyega said, stressing that only the Supreme Court can resolve what it described as a judicial inconsistency over the sudden increase from N180 million to over N1 billion.

In its latest ruling on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal dismissed that position, stressing that its word on NICN-related disputes is final.

“The Applicants cannot treat the Constitution of this great country with contempt and levity,” Mr Abang warned.

“If the Government treats Court Orders with levity and contempt, the confidence of the citizen in the Courts will be seriously eroded and the effect of that will be the beginning of anarchy in place of the Rule of Law.”