The call for the impeachment of governors who refuse to implement the Executive Order 10 that authorised the implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary has heightened.
The latest was from Judiciary workers and legal luminaries in Cross River State, who described the governors’ attitude of not wanting to consent to the implementation of the order as Shylock.
The Judiciary workers have been on strike for over a month, protesting the non-granting of financial autonomy, making them go to the executive with a cap at hand for money.
Speaking with DAILY POST via phone on Thursday, the Chairman of the Cross River State Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Comrade Asanya Ebong, regretted the action of the governors who were continually flouting President Buhari’s executive order.
Ebong said, “We have been doing all these dialoguing, agreement, suspension of strike for them to see the need to live up to their biddings, so this time we do not agree on anything without substantial implementation.
“The constitution does not mention the amount of money to be given to the judiciary, but it says any money standing for the credit of the judiciary and didn’t mention N100m, or so; it said any money standing to the credit of the judiciary in the consolidated revenue fund of the state be given to them as budgeted.
“These Governors who refused to implement the financial autonomy to the judiciary deceived the people but swore to uphold the provision of the constitution. They have deceived the people and have flouted the provision of the constitution.
“The House of Assembly should do the needful, maybe impeachment. It is an impeachable offence, they have not lived up to expectation,and not holding on to the provision of the constitution they have sworn to.”
Also speaking, Ntufam Mba UKweni, a Senior Advocate Of Nigeria (SAN), lamented that it’s more than a month since the strike commences and it is worrisome.
UKweni said, “I expected that anything provided in the constitution shouldn’t waste the time of all the major stakeholders, the Governors in particular in this case.
“It is a question of looking at the provision of the constitution, then coming up with the modality on how to implement it and to commence the implementation.
“Why it is more disturbing is that the Governors who have themselves sworn to imbibe by the constitution should not be seen to be breaching the provision of the constitution.
“During the time of the immediate past governor of this state, this issue came up, we were able to come up with a modality.
“As the courts have been shut down, lawyers are not working. Those working in the law firms of these lawyers are the worst hit. It’s not only the judiciary workers that are suffering but don’t forget that the judiciary workers are getting their salaries.
“It is the lawyers in private firms that are suffering, there are many law firms that will not be able to pay salaries this month, this will compound the problems in the state. The earlier the governors put their heads together and solve the problem, the better.”
He, however, called for the impeachment of governors who have refused to implement the provision of the constitution. “I support it because it is a breach of the oath they swore, and it is an impeachable offence. It is a violation of the provision of the constitution”
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