A coalition of civil society organisations in Rivers State has appealed to Governor Siminalayi Fubara to implement a Court of Appeal judgment ordering the payment of outstanding salaries and allowances owed to staff of the demonstration schools of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, since February 2016.
The coalition, which expressed concern over the prolonged hardship faced by the affected teachers, urged the state government to reinstate them, restore their employment rights and pay all outstanding entitlements in compliance with the judgment.
Chairman of the coalition, Enefaa Gorgewill, while briefing journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, said the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, on May 18, 2026, dismissed the Rivers State Government’s appeal in suit No. CA/PH/341/2022, challenging an earlier decision of the National Industrial Court that recognised the affected workers as valid and subsisting employees of the university.
According to the coalition, the appellate court directed the state government to pay the teachers’ salaries, allowances and other entitlements from the date their payments were stopped until full compliance with the judgment.
It maintained that the legal proceedings had been concluded and called on the government to take immediate steps to enforce the court’s decision.
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The coalition stressed that its appeal was not intended to embarrass or condemn the government but to seek a peaceful resolution of the matter in the interest of justice, good governance and respect for the rule of law.
It lamented that the affected workers had endured nearly 11 years without their salaries, leaving them to grapple with financial hardship, psychological distress and deprivation.
The group said the teachers had remained resilient throughout the prolonged dispute, expressing faith in the judiciary despite bureaucratic delays and other institutional challenges.
“We are deeply concerned that the excruciating pain, untold hardship, psychological trauma and physical deprivation these staff have endured over the years have remained unabated, even in the face of a valid court judgment,” the coalition said.
It appealed to Fubara to issue an executive directive for the immediate reinstatement of the affected staff, with their seniority, rights, privileges and academic ranks fully restored.
The coalition also called for the computation and payment of all outstanding salaries, allowances and other emoluments from February 2016 until the date of full compliance with the judgment.
It urged the management of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and the state Ministry of Justice to ensure the administrative implementation of the judgment without further delays.
The group further appealed to the government to extend similar consideration to teachers in other demonstration schools across Rivers State whose cases, it said, were similar.
Acknowledging what it described as the governor’s commitment to workers’ welfare and social justice, the coalition expressed confidence that his intervention would bring the dispute to a peaceful conclusion.
It added that implementing the judgment would provide relief to the affected teachers and demonstrate the government’s commitment to the rule of law and the protection of workers’ rights.
The coalition said it remained hopeful that the governor would respond positively to the appeal and resolve the matter without confrontation.
