Wike: orders deduction of one week pay from salary of JUSUN members

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Despite calling off its two months nationwide strike, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has directed the Accountant-General of state not to pay judiciary workers for the first  week of June in which the ‘no work-no pay policy’ was in force.

In a press statement signed by Kelvin Ebiri,the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, said Wike however commended the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) for calling off its two months strike in the State.

It will be recalled that the State government had warned that it will enforce the ‘no-work no-pay’ policy if JUSUN in the State fails to call off the strike by 31st of May.

Governor Wike, who hinged the State government’s decision not to pay JUSUN members for the first week of June on the union’s failure to heed the directive to resume work before 31st of May, reiterated that Rivers state has been implementing full financial autonomy of the judiciary and that the strike was therefore unnecessary in the first place.

The governor maintained that Rivers State government will not set up any budget implementation committee because it is unknown to law.

“Rivers State government is in full support of financial autonomy of the judiciary and has been implementing same. We have stated it before that we are not going to set up any budget monitoring committee in the State because it is unnecessary.”

Governor Wike explained that under a federal system of government, it is only the executive arm of government, at all the tiers, that has the powers to present the annual budget to either State or National Assembly and also signed it into law.

He further asserted that Rivers State people are law abiding and will continue to insist that every action of government must be predicated on the rule of law.