Abia PDP candidate Anosike promises judicial funding autonomy and welfare reforms

Kelechi Anosike, the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for governor of Abia State, has made judicial funding and workers’ welfare central to his campaign message for the 2027 election.

Speaking to more than 495 lawyers at a dinner in Port Harcourt, Anosike condemned four strikes by judicial workers in Abia over three years. He said repeated shutdowns affect not only judicial employees, but also the administration of justice, businesses, the economy, litigants and citizens’ fundamental rights.

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A judiciary that is repeatedly shut down affects the administration of justice, the economy, businesses, litigants and the fundamental rights of citizens.

Anosike also criticized what he called “executive cherry-picking” of money allocated to the judiciary. His position is that once the state House of Assembly approves the judicial budget and the governor assents to it, the executive should release the funds as approved rather than decide later which portions to provide.

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Funds appropriated for the judiciary should be released as appropriated, predictably and without executive cherry-picking.

“Funds appropriated for the judiciary should be released as appropriated, predictably and without executive cherry-picking,” Anosike said. He argued that unpredictable funding prevents the judiciary from planning and weakens financial autonomy.

The international commercial lawyer used the event, held on the sidelines of the Nigeria Bar Association’s annual conference, to outline a broader welfare agenda. He said he wanted to build an Abia where government works for its people and no citizen is left behind. “The government must not exist merely to exercise power,” he said. “It must exist to improve lives, create opportunities, protect dignity, and give every citizen a fair chance to prosper.” He also promised an Abia where workers would not have to keep struggling for wages they had legitimately earned.

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The government must not exist merely to exercise power. It must exist to improve lives, create opportunities, protect dignity, and give every citizen a fair chance to prosper.