The Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN) Justice Tanko Muhammad has decried that he cannot speak to state governors on behalf of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) over their ongoing strike.
According to a statement from the CJN’s Special Assistant on Media and publicity strategy, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, the legal chief made the statement when he met with some national and local officials of JUSUN at his chambers to explore solutions and ways to mitigate the impact of the strike.
Recall that members of the union had locked up gates of courts across the country in the enforcement of the indefinite nationwide strike which began on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
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JUSUN national leadership in a circular on April 1, directed the shutdown of courts across the country from April 6.
This is until state governments comply with the Constitution, court judgments, and other instruments which confer or reemphasize the financial autonomy of the judiciary.
While urging JUSUN members to call off the strike, the CJN lamented that he cannot speak to the state governments on their demands.
He said, ‘Ordinarily, I would say let me talk to the individual 36 state governors, which amounts to asking for their favors, but some of them would ask me to do ten favors in return.
‘This is why as a judge I am prohibited from asking for favors’.
Muhammad however told the JUSUN members that the process of making the state government obey Order 10 and various court judgments on the autonomy of the Judiciary is being implemented.
‘The unintended sufferers of this strike are better imagined. It has spiral effects, including on our children and on the Federal Judiciary, which is a lesser culprit’. he added.
The National Treasurer of JUSUN, Mr. Jimoh Musa who led the delegation on behalf of the JUSUN President, Marwan Adamu said that out of the 19 members of the National Executive Council (NEC), only three were present.
He said their president, Musa had an accident on his way to attend the meeting with the CJN.
Musa, however, agreed to table the CJN’s fatherly advice before JUSUN’s NEC meeting and consequently get back to his Lordship.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK