Barely two days after Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, declared that the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) agreement with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) was not binding on his government, the state’s judiciary opened, yesterday.
Some judiciary workers were seen entering and exiting the judiciary premises with excitement, even as some of the workers sighted at the complex declined comment.
A former Chairman of JUSUN in the state, George Sokari, told newsmen that an agreement had been signed at the national level, but the strike had not been suspended.
He said the heads of court will meet today after which the National Working Committee (NWC) would meet, adding that the outcome of the meeting would determine the next line of action.
Meanwhile, most lawyers in the state have decried the effect of shutdown of the courts, saying it had become unbearable. A constitutional lawyer, Angus Chukwuka, said: “I do not want to dwell on what Nigerian lawyers are going through at this time, particularly litigation lawyers, who fend for themselves from open courts. Within this bracket, there are junior lawyers and your guess is as good as mine.
“With regards their welfare, if this strike continues, we may have need for new lexicon to describe with precision of the state of affairs. It is for this reason that I believe JUSUN should be honorable enough to suspend the strike.”
The Guardian recalled that at the weekend, Wike insisted that the state government implemented financial autonomy for the legislature and judiciary, adding that the judiciary had collected first and second quarters of their capital fund.
The governor, therefore, stated that the state government had already commenced ‘no work, no pay policy’, insisting that he would not endorse any agreement with JUSUN, as the judicial and legislative arms of government were now enjoying full autonomy.