Despite the signing of an agreement by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on autonomy for Judiciary and Legislature at the state level, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has asked them to remit funds to the two arms before calling off their strike action.
The two arms of government will be getting statutory transfers from First Line charge.
Each of the 36 states is also expected to establish a State Account Allocation Committee (SAAC) to make the financial autonomy realistic.
Besides, all the state Houses of Assembly are to pass appropriate laws to back the autonomy for the Judiciary and the Legislature.
The terms of the agreement will be implemented within 45 days by all the parties.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the governors signed the agreement to implement Executive Order 10 on Friday in Abuja.
Although the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Conference of Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly had endorsed the pact over the last two weeks, the governors spent the period to consult before consenting.
A top source in Abuja that “we have virtually resolved all issues because the governors on Friday signed the agreement.”
The Chairman of the NGF, Governor Kayode Fayemi, and the Vice Chairman, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, signed for the governors, it was gathered.
The source said: “After signing, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige invited the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the President of JUSUN and other stakeholders to come and see the document.
“We are now in the next phase of calling off the strike action. But JUSUN came up with another clause that the governors should put funds down first before they can suspend their industrial action.
“They said they cannot trust the commitment of the governors to the agreement without cash backing. They also claimed that the purpose of the strike would have been defeated if the state Judiciary and Legislature were not financially independent,
“The governors however said they should be given time to release funds to back up the implementation of the autonomy for the two arms. They are depending on the timeline for the implementation of the agreement which is 45 days.
“In the end, the Federal Government prevailed on JUSUN and the Conference of Speakers to allow all parties to implement the terms of the agreement.
