AConstitutional Lawyer, Dr Kayode Ajulo, has advised the Federal Government to approach the Supreme court for the enforcement of deductions of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) allocation from source.
Ajulo gave the advice in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, against the backdrop of the lingering industrial action embarked upon by the union.
To permanently tackle the impasse, he said it was expedient for the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to approach the Supreme Court.
This, according to him, is pursuant to the provisions of Section 232(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) for an order to deduct at source.
He added that the deduction should be from the Federation Account and the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the states for any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary.
“As a corollary, each attorney-general of the states should ensure due compliance with the extant and clear provisions of the constitution, as the chief law officer of the state,” he said.
Ajulo noted that the refusal of the governors to comply with the provisions of law on JUSUN’s demand was an infraction on the constitution
According to him, strike is not the ultimate approach to resolving industrial disputes, adding that cases must be decided based on the circumstances surrounding them and the parties involved.
He urged the leadership of JUSUN to look inward and consider a more beneficial approach to ensuring that their agitations were implemented by erring governors.
The constitutional lawyer said that JUSUN should not allow the strike to affect the fundamental rights of the citizens and the confidence reposed in the judiciary by members of the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that JUSUN had, on April 6, embarked on a nationwide strike to protest the non-implementation of financial autonomy for the nation’s judiciary.
NAN also reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had, in May 2020, signed an executive order granting financial autonomy to the judiciary and state houses of assembly after several agitations.
However, the gazetting of the order was suspended after Buhari met with governors, who later expressed concerns over its constitutionality. (NAN)
