NBA President, Lafia Emir, Others to Monitor Govs’ Compliance with JUSUN Agreement

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata; the Emir of Lafia, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sidi Bage; the President of the National Industrial Court (NIC), Justice Benedict Kanyip; the Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Onuoha Ogwe; and Dr Muiz Banire (SAN) are the members and chairman of the committee set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to monitor the implementation of Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed between the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) on the financial autonomy for the judiciary.

Akpata disclosed the identities of the committee members in an update report on the suspended JUSUN strike through his email newsletter to members yesterday.

According to the newsletter sighted by THISDAY, Bage was named the chairman of the five-man committee.

The NJC had in a statement by its Director of Information, Soji Oye, on Wednesday said it had set up a five-man monitoring committee to ensure that the state governors do not renege on their obligations under the MoA.

In the email, Akpata said: “The move by the NJC is to ensure that the governors do not renege from their financial and ancillary commitments, which influenced JUSUN’s decision to suspend the strike,” he said in the mail.

In a speech delivered yesterday at the presentation of official vehicles to Magistrate and Shari’a Courts Judges in Zamfara State, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has expressed hopes that with the presentation of vehicles, the state and federal government will work towards the implementation of the Executive Order 10 for the financial autonomy of the state legislature and judiciary.

Malami stated this in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu.