THE strike embarked upon by judiciary workers in Cross Rivers State stalled the sitting of the state’s Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday, May 3.
The strike which commenced on Wednesday, has paralysed court activities in the State.
The state chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) had embarked on an indefinite strike over unmet demands.
The state chairman of JUSUN, Enyia Etorti, reportedly told PUNCH that the government had ignored their demands since 2015.
He claims that one of the union’s main requests is the judiciary’s independence.
“Then the most pertinent to us is the pending 66% which is CONJUSS. It’s paid all over the country.
“The state only paid 34%, left with 66% and we have been begging the government to pay for years. Moreover, promotion has not been made for years in the state judiciary,” Etorti to Punch.
The strike prevented the Elections Petition Tribunal from holding its first sitting because the courthouse was closed.
The tribunal’s secretary Akawu Bambur said the sitting was postponed indefinitely due to the strike and told journalists that a new date would be revealed later.
There are some major petitions before the tribunal, one of which is that of the state governor Ben Ayade, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is seeking to reverse his loss in the Cross River North Senatorial election to Jarigbe Agom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Also before the panel is the petition by the governorship candidate of the PDP, Sandy Onor, against the state governor-elect, APC candidate Senator Bassey Otu.
A reporter with the ICIR
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