Registered voters in Nigeria appeals to Jonathan for intervention on court closure

The Conference of Nigeria Registered Voters, CNRV, yesterday appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene urgently in the continued states courts closure nationwide occasioned by judicial workers strike reports www.odogwublog.com .

President of the CNRV, Barr Jezie Ekejiuba in a press statement made available to www.odogwublog.com  reads : ‘’The Conference of Nigeria Registered Voters, CNRV, hereby wish to send an S.O.S Appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently intervene to end the current nationwide State courts closure in the country occasioned by the State Judicial workers strike.

Ekejiuba insisted that if something urgent is not done to ensure the judiciary workers resume , that President Jonathan may get protest votes from the Judiciary workers.

‘’The strike is now two months old having started on January 5, 2015. The Federal Judicial workers ended their own strike on January 26, 2015. We recall that the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, embarked on the strike action aimed at forcing the State governments across the 36 States of the Federation to implement the Judgment delivered by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja on January 13, 2014 which upheld the constitutional provision of Section 162(9) of the Nigerian Constitution that preserved the financial autonomy

status of the judiciary.

The court also ordered the Accountant-General of the Federation to be deducting funds standing to the credit of the Judiciary in the Federation Account and be remitting it directly to the various heads of court.

We wish to bring to the attention of Mr. President that thousands of Nigerians who earn their livelihood from the Judiciary Sector notably the State Judicial workers and lawyers etc are now suffering from economic deprivation.

‘’Equally, thousands of Guardians who have their loved ones detained in various police cells across the nation and Litigants in need of protecting their legal rights are deprived of their rights to secure freedom for their wards and judicial protection respectively.

‘’We also wish to inform Mr. President that our finding reveals that these Nigerians categorized as Judiciary Sector Voters are in anger for his non-intervention on a very important national issue that bothers on the Rule of law. These Nigerians are poised to cast protest votes against our sitting President during the March 28 Presidential Poll unless he intervenes to end the strike through a Presidential directive to the Accountant-General of the Federation to ensure strict compliance with the judgment of the court.

‘’Every Nigerian should be given a conducive atmosphere to vote according to his/her conscience and not according to his/her anger. We are indeed saddened by the silence of President Jonathan on this issue.

‘’We have no doubt that a Presidential directive to the Accountant-General of the Federation to fully comply with the orders as contained in the judgment will put an end to the current nationwide State courts closure in the country. This is because the buck stops at his Presidential table.