The Nigerian Governors’ Forum has appealed to striking workers in the judiciary sector to call off their on-going strike in the interest of the nation.
Deputy Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, made the appeal in an interview with State House Correspondents after he led officials of the Conference of Speakers of States Assembly to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President for a meeting.
He said: “We have just finished talking to the Speakers and indeed the State Chief Judges and the Judiciary to continue to engage and the Minister of Labour is also engaging with the striking bodies to appeal to them to appreciate the fact that we have made progress. And then they should call off the strike. We’re appealing to them in the interest of this country; they should call off the strike.”
Fruitful negotiations
Tambuwal assured Nigerians that a lot of progress has been made in negotiations and hopefully the matter would be put to rest next week.
“We’re here with the chairman and leadership of the Speakers Conference. The Solicitor General of the Federation and SSA to Mr. President on Niger Delta who has been a member of the Technical Committee on the implementation of the autonomy of state legislature and the judiciary.
“Together with the Chief of Staff to the President, have just finished a meeting on how to put finishing touches and dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s, on the final implementation of the financial autonomy of the state legislature and the judiciary.
“We have made reasonable progress and we have agreed after receiving the final report of the technical committee to meet on Monday because of the urgency of the matter and finally resolve whatever issues are there,” he said.
Building viable institutions
Tambuwal pledged the commitment of those in leadership positions to build viable institutions for the country.
“Well, I can assure you that all of us are committed to building institutions, particularly our parliaments and the judiciary in our respective states, as Governors democratically elected and we are doing whatever it takes to make sure that whatever the issues are resolved.
“As I told you before, some of them are constitutional and when matters have to do with the constitution, you have to be sure of what you’re doing that you’re actually following the Constitution,” he said.
Autonomy of State Legislature and Judiciary
The Sokoto State Governor said Governors have always been in support of the autonomy of State legislature and judiciary.
“From the very beginning, during the 8th Assembly, under the leadership of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Dogara, the Governors’ Forum under Abdulaziz Yari then, met with them and supported the financial autonomy for the state legislature and the judiciary.
“And that is why with that support, we were able to achieve the passage of this amendment by the National Assembly and the state legislature across the country. So, the governors are unequivocally in support of the autonomy of these institutions”, he said.
Nneka Ukachukwu
