JUSUN strike: Abia government faults NBA threat to embark on demonstration
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) forum’s chairmen in Abia State have threatened to organise attorneys for a protest if the state’s judiciary workers’ ongoing strike is not addressed. This threat has been criticised by the Abia State government. NBA Chairmen had claimed, among other things, that the State administration had rejected their intentions to meet with Governor Alex Otti and the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna, SAN, to resolve the strike by judiciary personnel.
However, in response to the news, the Abia State Government stated that it had made significant strides in ending the JUSUN strike, pointing out that the majority of the contentious issues with the State’s judiciary union leadership had been resolved.
This was said on Thursday in Umuahia by Onyebuchi Ememanka, Director General of the Abia State Government’s Strategic Communication Bureau, and Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Advisor to Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity.
According to the government, the NBA was not utilising the most recent data regarding the status of negotiations. “The problem of leave allowance was one of the main causes of this strike.
“Our stance as a government was that all employees who receive consolidated salaries have a leave component built into their salaries, and during these negotiations, JUSUN themselves discovered that our position had been correct all along,” he stated.
Regarding the JUSUN members’ demands for financial autonomy, Ememanka stated that there is significant adherence to financial autonomy in the State since, in his opinion, the Chief Judge, who is in charge of that branch of government, decides how money will be distributed.
The state government clarified that the Abia State Judiciary Service Commission handles the hiring, advancement, compensation, and retirement of judges rather than the executive branch of the state.
Additionally, Ememanka refuted the NBA Chairmen’s claim that Governor Otti and Uwanna, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, turned down their request for a courtesy visit.
