Financial Autonomy
Strike: Minister to hold fresh meeting with governors, NBA, JUSUN, others
Labour minister, Chris Ngige, has rescheduled a fresh meeting with the leaderships of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), over the lingering strike that has crippled court activities across the country for two weeks. Representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) are also expected to be at the meeting scheduled to hold in Abuja on Tuesday. Members of JUSUN had on April 6 embarked on the indefinite nationwide strike to press home their demand for judiciary’s financial autonomy. The labour minister had on Thursday announced a last-minute postponement of the meeting he was scheduled to hold with the NBA, JUSUN and other stakeholders over the lingering crisis. The abrupt postponement of the meeting infuriated the leaderships of the body ...
JUSUN: No going back on strike
The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) on Monday commenced its nationwide protest over financial autonomy of the Judiciary. The National Treasurer of the union, Comrade Jimoh, leading the protest, said they will not back down on the strike and protest until their demands are met. JUSUN had on April 6 shut down all courts in the country to protest the refusal of governors to comply with the constitutional provisions for financial autonomy of the Judiciary. However, due to the failure of talks with the governors, JUSUN on Friday threatened to add mass protest to the strike. Alonge, while speaking with journalists at the Court of Appeal take-off point of the protest to the National Assembly, stated that the judiciary is confronted with myriads of problems, but noted that once the issue ...
NBA urges judiciary workers to shelve strike
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Monday urged judiciary workers under the aegis of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to shelve their plan to begin a nationwide strike on Tuesday. The association in a statement signed by its President, Olumide Akpata, said although it believes in the battle for financial autonomy of the judiciary being waged by the workers, the timing of the planned strike would spell doom for the country considering the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in the last one year. Akpata stated, “However, as commendable and laudable as the proposed strike action may be, the NBA is concerned about its timing and the potentially devastating consequences it would pose for justice administration in the country, particularly coming on the heels of prolonged...
36 states sue federal government, demand funding of state courts
The 36 states governors, through their respective Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice, have dragged the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, before the Supreme Court over the failure of the Federal Government to fund the courts in the country with recurrent expenditure since May 5, 2009. It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, had in May 2020, signed Executive Order 10, which gave financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary at the state level. The state governors argued that the Federal Government should also fund state courts if the president must make such order. The plaintiffs in the suit against the AGF, through their counsel, Mr Augustine Alegeh, SAN, are contending that the respondent refused to fun...
Akwa Ibom speaker hails President over executive order on financial autonomy
Speaker of Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Mr Aniekan Bassey, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for signing into law Executive Order No. 10, of 2020. The law is for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary. Bassey made the commendation on Sunday in Uyo while fielding questions from newsmen on the legislative autonomy. He, however, warned his colleagues not to take the autonomy as an avenue for legislative “rascality”, but as a means of cooperation among the three arms of government. He described granting financial autonomy to the legislative and judicial arms of government across the country as a means of ensuring smooth conduct of government businesses within the three arms of government. “Financial autonomy granted to the two arms of governme...
