By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
Despite strong appeals by some state governors who have granted financial autonomy to their state judiciary and legislature and thereby asking their judiciary workers to boycott the strike, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, (JUSUN), has resolved to continue with its on-going strike until the accounts of the Judiciary are credited.
The resolution to continue with the strike was reached on Wednesday May 26, 2021 by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Union after its meeting with the body of Chief Judges.
However, it was noted that states like Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Lagos have already complied with the provisions of Executive Order 10 by remitting money to the arms of government but they are expected to formalise the arrangement by setting up the fund disbursement structures as provided in the agreement, NWC stated.
The Judiciary workers had embarked on the strike last month to press home their demand for the autonomy of that arm of the government at the state levels. Since they embarked on the action, the courts have not been sitting all over the country, leaving litigants and others with various issues in the courts, stranded. Hopes were raised earlier in the week that with the intervention of the federal government and pledges by the states to commence remittances by the end of the month, the strike would be lifted. But with the new turn of events, Nigerians may still have to endure the pains of the industrial action by the judiciary workers.
