The Presiding Judge, Yola Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice James Agbadu-Fishim, PhD, has ordered the Adamawa State Government and the Attorney-General of Adamawa State to immediately pay Mr. Lucas the sum of N2.5m representing unpaid Furniture Allowance, N252k unpaid Leave Allowance, N2.5m unpaid Severance Gratuity, and N500k as cost of action.
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Justice Agbadu-Fishim held that Mr. Lucas has sufficiently established his entitlement to the unpaid Furniture Allowance, Leave Allowance and Severance Gratuity, through credible and unchallenged documentary evidence before the Court.
The Court also awarded Mr. Lucas Domgelma the sum of N2m as general damages for the suffering and anguish occasioned by the Adamawa State Government and others’ failure to pay his lawful entitlements after the expiration of his appointment.
From facts, the Claimant, Mr. Lucas, had submitted that he was appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Adamawa State in November 2008 and served until 2011, during which period he received his salaries but was not paid his Furniture Allowance, Leave Allowance and Severance Gratuity as provided under his letter of appointment and the Adamawa State New Salary Structure.
Mr. Lucas maintained that despite demanding payment of the outstanding entitlements and serving a pre-action notice, the Defendants failed to liquidate the outstanding sums.
In defence, the Adamawa State Government and the Attorney-General of Adamawa State contended that the appointment and remuneration of political aides are governed by the Constitution, State laws and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission guidelines, maintaining that the 1999 Constitution only recognises Special Advisers and does not expressly provide for Senior Special Assistants or Personal Assistants.
The Adamawa State Government and others argued that Mr. Lucas failed to prove that he validly accepted his appointment, argued that the office of Senior Special Assistant was not expressly recognised under the applicable Adamawa State Law for payment of the claimed allowances, maintained that he did not complete the four-year tenure required to qualify for Furniture Allowance, and urged the Court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit.
In Opposition, Lucas’s counsel, R. Ajumebor Esq, argued that the terms of the appointment Letter mirrored the provisions of the Adamawa State New Salary Structure (For Judicial Officers, Public and Political Office Holders and the Legislature) Amendment Law, 2007, thereby entitling his client to the unpaid Furniture Allowance, Leave Allowance and Severance Gratuity.
In opposition, Counsel to the Adamawa State Government argued that there was no ambiguity in the applicable law governing the appointment and remuneration of Mr. Lucas Domgelma, insisted that no valid contract existed between the parties as the essential elements of a contract had not been established, and urged the Court to dismiss the case in its entirely.
In a well-considered judgment, Justice James Agbadu-Fishim held that the appointment Letter had established the contractual relationship between Mr. Lucas and the Adamawa State Government which expressly provided for the payment of Furniture Allowance, Leave Allowance and Severance Gratuity as part of the conditions of his appointment.
The Court further held that the Adamawa State Government and others neither challenged nor rebutted the documentary evidence tendered by Mr. Lucas, and also failed to justify the non-payment of his allowances and gratuity, and could not lawfully withhold entitlements expressly provided for under the terms of his appointment without any legal justification.
The Court entered judgment in favour of Mr. Lucas and ordered the Adamawa State Government and the Attorney-General of Adamawa State to forthwith pay the sums awarded as unpaid Furniture Allowance, Leave Allowance, Severance Gratuity, general damages, cost of action and 10% annual post-judgment interest until the judgment debt is fully liquidated.
Justice Agbadu-Fishim held that withholding Mr. Lucas’s gratuity and allowances after the Adamawa State Government and others had enjoyed his services was unconscionable, contrary to best labour practices and unsupported by law, thereby entitling him to all the reliefs granted by the Court.
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Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
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