News
Governors appeal to judicial workers to end strike
By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja and Adebisi Onanuga
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has appealed to striking members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to call their industrial action off.
Tambuwal, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), made the appeal yesterday while fielding questions from State House Correspondents after a meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, in Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Tambuwal had led members of the Technical Committee on the implementation of the autonomy of State Legislature and the Judiciary to the meeting.
JUSUN had embarked on nationwide industrial action over the non-implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary, thereby paralysing court activities in states across the country.
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“We have just finished talking to the Speakers, and indeed the state judges, and the judiciary to continue to engage and the Minister of Labour is also engaging with the striking bodies to appeal to them, to appreciate the fact that we have made progress. They should call off the strike. We are appealing to them in the interest of this country; they should call off the strike,” he said.
Tambuwal said the technical committee raised on the matter had made reasonable progress on the implementation of financial autonomy to state judiciary and legislature, adding that the committee would meet again on Monday after receiving the final report of the committee.
“We are here with the chairman and leadership of the Speakers Conference, the Solicitor General of the Federation, and Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Mr. President on Niger Delta, Sen. Ita Enang, who has been a member of the Technical Committee on the implementation of the autonomy of state legislature and the judiciary, together with the Chief of Staff to the President.
“We have just finished a meeting on how to put finishing touches and dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on the final implementation of the financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary.”
Also yesterday, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), urged Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi to prevail on other governors to obey several court orders on financial autonomy for the Judiciary.
Agbakoba said this is the only way out of the strike of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) now in its 10th day and to save the country’s judicial system from chaos.
