The ongoing strike of judiciary workers under the auspices of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) enters its ninth day today. The workers downed tools on January 5 in continuation of their campaign for the implementation of the Abuja High Court judgment of January 13, 2014 which granted financial autonomy to the judiciary in the country.
JUSUN, in a justification of the strike, accused the Accountant General of the Federation of failing to prevail on the Federal Government to comply with the court judgment which barred the Executive from holding on to funds meant for the Judiciary. The Accountant Generals of the 36 states also incurred the ire of JUSUN as they were accused of stalling the implementation of the judgment.
If it had been implemented, the judgment would have given the judiciary a first line charge of its revenues. The Accountant General of the Federation would have been making deductions of the amount standing to the credit of the federal and state judiciaries in the Consolidated Revenue Fund and remitting same to the National Judicial Council (NJC), which would disburse it to the various heads of courts. If this is done, no one outside the judiciary will be able to tamper with the funds meant for that arm of government.
The judgment granting autonomy to the judiciary is backed by Section 84, subsections (1), (2),(3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which affirms the independence of the three arms of government, including financial autonomy.
The Constitution could not have envisaged political autonomy without financial autonomy for the three arms of government, as one is ineffective without the other. For the judiciary to discharge its sacred mandate without fear or favour, its true independence cannot be compromised. This is the ultimate justification for the strike by JUSUN.
It is, however, sad that this strike was allowed to happen despite an earlier warning strike which led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on November 27, last year. The MOU stipulated that the terms of the judgment would be implemented from the December Federal Accounts and Allocation Committee meeting, but that has not been the case.
The Accountant General of the Federation, in shifting blame, has said the non-implementation of the MOU was in deference to states which have asked for a reconciliation of their accounts, before implementation. He did not say when this reconciliation would be completed. Neither did he address the implications of parties reneging on agreements freely entered into.
This lackadaisical attitude has been the bane of many agreements that different levels of government have entered into with many categories of workers in the country. Many of the agreements end up not being implemented by the governments.
As a result of this strike, the nation’s judiciary has been paralysed. All the nation’s courts, up to the Supreme Court, including all judiciary institutions such as the NJC, Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI) have been grounded for over a week. This sends a wrong signal on our resolve to uphold and strengthen our democracy as well as build strong institutions. The Judiciary as the last hope of the common man is too sensitive an arm of government to be toyed with.
We, therefore, call on the government to move quickly for a resolution of the dispute by immediately and unreservedly implementing the terms of the January 13 judgment. The political will and financial means must be found for an immediate and full implementation of the court ruling, especially since it is backed by the constitution. The days of selective and partial implementation of judgments are over. There should be no more hiding place for bureaucratic manouvres and political somersaults.
This latest strike is, indeed, one too many. This is more so as it could have been avoided. The trading of blames between parties to this dispute is not the answer to the problem. While, ordinarily, the judiciary workers who are expected to know the law would have been expected to have gone back to the courts to ask for an enforcement of the ruling which granted judiciary autonomy under the extant Enforcement Rule, the argument that has been canvassed in some quarters that granting of financial autonomy would expose judicial officers to corruption does not hold water. Everything must be done to address the grievance of JUSUN once and for all, as this appears to be the way forward. The cost of these avoidable strikes on ordinary Nigerians who rely on the courts for adjudication of their disputes is incalculable.
Moreover, when we expose our judiciary to this kind of ridicule, we gradually erode its respect and prestige. The judiciary becomes more visible than is ideal, while the public and judiciary workers could lose confidence in the system and begin to look for other means of solving their problems. The result may be a weakened and compromised judiciary, as well as lasting collateral damage to our body politic and wellbeing. These, we cannot afford.
We call on the Accountant General of the Federation to implement the terms of the MOU forthwith. The state Accountant Generals should also end the procrastination on the implementation of this judgment. The embarrassment that the nation has suffered on account of the delay in implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary has been costly. This is the time to end it.
