The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has reiterated his resolve that judiciary workers will not be paid for month of June for failing to call off their strike at the end of May.
The governor had given a deadline for judiciary workers to call off their strike at the end of May but the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) Rivers State branch, did not call off the strike.
Speaking at commissioning of the National Industrial Court Judges’ Quarters in Old GRA, the governor said that he supports the autonomy of the judiciary and the legislature but noted that the autonomy must be in line with Constitutional provision.
The governor said: “I have implemented financial autonomy on the judiciary and the legislature to the fullest. I challenge any state that will say they are implementing more than us. The Chairman of NBA, Port-Harcourt branch said ‘Your Excellency we beseech you to do well’. How will I do well? Beseech JUSUN to do the right thing. For us we’ve started implementing the policy no work no pay. Rivers State government will not pay judiciary workers in this June”.
The governor said that only the executive could present budget of the three arms to the legislature, adding that the judiciary cannot go to the legislature to present budget.
He said that it was the head of the executive arm that would present the annual expenditure of the state covering the three arms of government to the legislature meaning it is the executive who also signs the budget into law.
The governor said: “I’m not bound by any Presidential Implementation Committee to tell me how to come and know how to obey the Constitution”.
He further said: “I will not delegate my power to another person. I will not do that”.
So you people are playing to the gallery, he said.
“If they tell you that they have presidential implementation of the autonomy of the legislature and judiciary, it is a lie”.
He said that judiciary workers should not expect to be paid when they were on strike: “Nobody can sit at home when we have not committed any offence for you to go on strike and you expect us to continue to pay. We will not. No work no pay”.
At the special valedictory court session for the outgoing Chief Judge of the state, Governor Wike said that he would not allow the judiciary to submit its budget directly to the legislature and had called on JUSUN to call off its strike.
“We would therefore neither set up any new implementation committee because it’s simply unnecessary nor allow the state judiciary to submit its budget directly to the State House of Assembly in breach of extant fiscal policies and regulations that regulate the state’s budgeting process”.
The governor further said: “I wish to warn therefore that if JUSUN fails to call off this strike by the end of this May 2021 government would have no option but to implement the prevailing law on no work no pay. You know very well that we cannot be intimidated by anyone on such or any other matter that borders on the collective interest of Rivers State”.
According to the governor the law will come into force this June and in subsequent months unless the JUSUN calls off its strike.
Governor Wike said the judiciary and the legislature were both independent, self-accounting and performing their respective constitutional roles for the advancement of the state saying that both arms of government were not starved of funds.
He said: “As at today both the Judiciary and the State House of Assembly have not been starved of financial releases. Both have received their 2021 first and second quarters capital projects budgetary funds which they have evidently deployed to execute their respective capital and constituency projects across the state”.
He also said there was no basis for JUSUN to join the strike as the issues in contention did not apply to the state as the judiciary was enjoying financial autonomy and much improved staff welfare, and had called on the union to call off the strike.
