Osun judiciary strike: Adeleke hosts JUSUN national leadership, seeks strike action’s resolution
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has again called for the amicable resolution of the ongoing strike action by the State Chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), expressing unhappiness about the hold-up in the justice administration due to the industrial action.
Speaking while hosting a delegation of the national leadership of the judicial union led by its President, Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu, Adeleke, in a statement by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed was quoted to have narrated his interventions to resolve the strike to include the payments of the withheld salaries of some judicial workers and negotiations with the union on their wardrobe allowances.
The judicial workers in the State had last year protested against the embattled Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo over alleged impunity.
They also accused Adepele-Ojo of refusal to pay wardrobe allowances of workers and other emoluments in the last three years.
The angry judicial staff later embarked on indefinite strike action following the treatment they said was meted to them by the police and the attitude of the Chief Judge during the protest.
The Governor, who described the dispute as purely a judicial matter, said the subject matter of the industrial action has nothing to do with the executive arm of government, stressing that his intervention was to avoid further delay in the state’s justice administration system.
He said, “I thank you for visiting Osun state. We value your interventions. I have tried to address some of the issues, but most of them are not within my purview. Your presence in Osun will speed up the resolution efforts.
“As the national body, help us interface with all the parties to find amicable resolutions. You have my full support for this assignment “, the Governor told the team.
Responding, the JUSUN national president described the industrial action and the protracted paralysis of the Osun judiciary as ‘unfortunate’, citing his previous sickness as responsible for his late intervention.
“We are in Osun state to find a lasting solution. I will meet all stakeholders, and I assure Mr Governor that industrial peace would soon be restored to the state judiciary”, the National President who was accompanied by his national officers noted.
