The House of Representatives has aligned with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, on the need to guarantee the independence of the judiciary to enable the courts to function effectively without external interferences.
The Chairman House Committee on judiciary, Mr Onofiok Luke, made the remark when the committee met with officials of JUSUN in Abuja.
Mr Luke, said the autonomy of the judiciary was cardinal to the practice and survival of democracy.
He said: “As a Committee, we share in the sentiments as expressed by JUSUN. From our colleagues, they were just proposing some of the measures that we feel that we can put in place to arrive at a just conclusion. We share in what you are saying not that we don’t understand where the problem is coming from, we know where the problem is.
We don’t behave like the Ostrich, at least not this House under the leadership of Femi Gbajabiamila and the same strength and spirit that the House leadership exhibits is the same strength and courage that is passed to the respective Committees where we look at those who need to do the right thing in the face and tell them this your responsibility, you ought to carry out your responsibility.
He observed that financial autonomy which will lead to the independence of the Judiciary and that the views as expressed by members of the Committee were to get more information from the Union that will help the committee to come to get a possible solution to the impasse.
The lawmaker however, expressed concern with the shutting down of all courts by JUSUN.
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He argued that the problem was more with some State governments which have not complied with the constitution on the financial autonomy of the judiciary.
He added that the federal government has followed the law in the funding and release of finances to the courts under it.
Mr Luke therefore, appealed to the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF to intervene in the matter to correct the anomalies, saying the House would also engage with the Forum on the same issue.
The National Assistant Secretary of the Union, Comrade Shehu Magaji said JUSUN was fighting a noble cause for all Nigerians.
Comrade Magaji, revealed that there was a subsisting court judgement on the issue which has not been appealed to.
He added that the governors were part of the Executive Order for the release of funds to the judiciary, saying the seeming grouse of the governors against the Order was the provision that empowered the Accountant General of the Federation to deduct from source in case any State defaulted.
