Governors of the 36 states of the Federation under the platform of Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) have appealed to striking Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to call off their on-going strike in the interest of the nation.
The union had on April 6 embarked on a nationwide strike to protest the non-implementation of the financial autonomy of the nation’s judiciary.
The union directed all its members across the federation to shut down all courts after the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum earlier given over the failure of the government to implement the financial autonomy of the judiciary.
The governors were accused of frustrating the implementation of the financial autonomy for the judiciary, they are accused of seeing the judges as their staff and that they starve the judiciary of funding if they don’t dance to their tune.
But Deputy Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, appealed to the workers in an interview with State House Correspondents, after he led officials of the Conference of Speakers of States Assembly to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President for a meeting.
Tambuwal said that state governors are fully in support of financial autonomy for the legislature and judiciary at the state level but would want its implementation to follow the provisions of the constitution.
The governor, in an interaction with the State House Correspondents after leading the members of the Technical Committee on the implementation of the autonomy of state legislature and the judiciary to a meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, also called on members of JUSUN to call off its strike.
According to him, the governors will meet on Monday to consider the final report of the technical committee because of the urgency of the matter resolve issues raised.
Asked the position of the governors on the matter, the Sokoto state governor said “From the very beginning, during the 8th Assembly, under the leadership of Bukola Saraki and Speaker Dogara, the Governors Forum under Abdulaziz Yari then, met with them and supported the financial autonomy for the state legislature and the judiciary. And that is why with that support, we were able to achieve the passage of this amendment by the National Assembly and the state legislature across the country. So the governors are unequivocally in support of the autonomy of these institutions.”
Asked what the issues were if actually the governors were willing to implement legislature and judicial financial autonomy in their states, Tambuwal said “I can assure you that all of us are committed to building institutions, particularly our parliaments and the judiciary in our respective states, as governors democratically elected, and will do whatever it takes to make sure that whatever issues are resolved, as I told you before, some of it are constitutional. And then matters that have to do with the constitution, you have to be sure of what you’re doing; that you’re actually following the Constitution.”
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On why the President Muhammadu Buhari had to set up the implementation committee when the governors were not opposed to the financial autonomy for legislature and judiciary, he said he was not in any position to query the wisdom of the President on the matter.
He added that his implementation committee had already spoken with Speakers of State Assemblies and Judiciary to continue to engage assuring that reasonable progress had already been made on the matter.
“They should call off the strike. We’re appealing to them in the interest of this country, they should call off the strike,” he pleaded.
Tambuwal added that: “I can assure you that all of us are committed to building institutions, particularly our parliaments and the judiciary in our respective states, as governors democratically elected.
“We will do whatever it takes to make sure that whatever issues are resolved, as I told you, before, some of it are constitutional.
“And then, whatever matters that have to do with the constitution, you have to be sure of what you’re doing that you’re actually following the Constitution.”
Tambuwal claimed that the governors are in support of financial autonomy, adding that: “From the very beginning, during the 8th assembly, under the leadership of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, the governors’ forum under Abdulaziz Yari then, met with them and supported the financial autonomy for the state legislature and the judiciary.
“And that is why with that support, we were able to achieve the passage of this amendment by the National Assembly and the state legislature across the country.
“So, the governors are unequivocally in support of the autonomy of these institutions.”