Autonomy: CJs Collect Cars From Govs, Can’t Speak Truth — JUSUN

The striking Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria has lambasted Chief
Judges in the country for collecting luxury cars from governors as
gifts, adding that such Chief Judges cannot speak the truth to
power as the governors are their benefactors.

JUSUN Treasurer, Jimoh Alonge, spoke on Wednesday while
featuring on PUNCH
Online^[1] interview
programme, The Roundtable.

Judiciary workers three weeks ago embarked on the indefinite
nationwide strike in protest against the denial of the judiciary
its constitutionally guaranteed financial autonomy which was also
affirmed by a Federal High Court in January 2014.

But according to Alonge, despite the court judgment, the
governors and the accountant-general of the federation have not
complied with the 2014 judgment.

Alonge stressed that money meant for the judiciary should be
given to the National Judicial Council by the Federal Government
for onward disbursement to judicial workers in states. “Judges are
paid from NJC but other judicial workers are at the mercy of the
governors which is not supposed to be so,” Alonge stated.

He said the governors have become so powerful that they decide
when and who to pay salaries, noting that the money from the centre
is for states which comprised of the executive, legislature, and
the judiciary.

According to Alonge, Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi, and Jigawa States have
been withholding judicial workers’ salaries for more than eight
months now for demanding judicial autonomy.

The JUSUN official, therefore, vowed that the judicial workers
are resolute and are going to continue the strike until the day
they pay those monies to NJC account. He also said the workers will
take their demonstrations to the US and UK Embassies in Nigeria to
express their displeasure.

Alonge, who said there are issues in Nigeria because the three
arms are not working, noted that the Lagos State Government has not
granted autonomy to the judiciary contrary to reports.

He said, “The first time we heard of Lagos trying to open the
gate, I personally went to Lagos and I met with the management of
the judiciary and I asked them a single question: where do your
salaries come from? They said from the Ministry of Finance and I
asked them, ‘Is that autonomy?’

“I wonder if a CJ can come out after his car is being given to
him by the governor, his rent, his houses are being given by the
governor and such will come out after being dashed all the gifts
and say that is autonomy. That is not autonomy. Autonomy says money
meant for the judiciary should be deducted as such to the NJF for
onward disbursement and that is not done anywhere in this
country.

“For a governor to dash vehicles, that is not what we are asking
for, we are saying that what is mine should be given to me, let me
spend it the way I can. It is not true that Lagos is complying with
judicial autonomy. Autonomy is different from when a governor is
friendly and good governor but that does not mean he is complying
with judicial autonomy.”

Efforts by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige;
and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to broker peace in order for the
judicial workers to shelve their strike have proved abortive in the
last couple of weeks as police cells and prisons get overcrowded
daily with the continued closure of courts in the country.

The striking Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria has lambasted Chief
Judges in the country for collecting luxury cars from governors as
gifts, adding that such Chief Judges cannot speak the truth to
power as the governors are their benefactors.

JUSUN Treasurer, Jimoh Alonge, spoke on Wednesday while
featuring on PUNCH
Online^[1] interview
programme, The Roundtable.

Judiciary workers three weeks ago embarked on the indefinite
nationwide strike in protest against the denial of the judiciary
its constitutionally guaranteed financial autonomy which was also
affirmed by a Federal High Court in January 2014.

But according to Alonge, despite the court judgment, the
governors and the accountant-general of the federation have not
complied with the 2014 judgment.

Alonge stressed that money meant for the judiciary should be
given to the National Judicial Council by the Federal Government
for onward disbursement to judicial workers in states. “Judges are
paid from NJC but other judicial workers are at the mercy of the
governors which is not supposed to be so,” Alonge stated.

He said the governors have become so powerful that they decide
when and who to pay salaries, noting that the money from the centre
is for states which comprised of the executive, legislature, and
the judiciary.

According to Alonge, Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi, and Jigawa States have
been withholding judicial workers’ salaries for more than eight
months now for demanding judicial autonomy.

The JUSUN official, therefore, vowed that the judicial workers
are resolute and are going to continue the strike until the day
they pay those monies to NJC account. He also said the workers will
take their demonstrations to the US and UK Embassies in Nigeria to
express their displeasure.

Alonge, who said there are issues in Nigeria because the three
arms are not working, noted that the Lagos State Government has not
granted autonomy to the judiciary contrary to reports.

He said, “The first time we heard of Lagos trying to open the
gate, I personally went to Lagos and I met with the management of
the judiciary and I asked them a single question: where do your
salaries come from? They said from the Ministry of Finance and I
asked them, ‘Is that autonomy?’

“I wonder if a CJ can come out after his car is being given to
him by the governor, his rent, his houses are being given by the
governor and such will come out after being dashed all the gifts
and say that is autonomy. That is not autonomy. Autonomy says money
meant for the judiciary should be deducted as such to the NJF for
onward disbursement and that is not done anywhere in this
country.

“For a governor to dash vehicles, that is not what we are asking
for, we are saying that what is mine should be given to me, let me
spend it the way I can. It is not true that Lagos is complying with
judicial autonomy. Autonomy is different from when a governor is
friendly and good governor but that does not mean he is complying
with judicial autonomy.”

Efforts by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige;
and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to broker peace in order for the
judicial workers to shelve their strike have proved abortive in the
last couple of weeks as police cells and prisons get overcrowded
daily with the continued closure of courts in the country.