The Osun State Government has promised the state leadership of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria that its requests will be addressed in due course.
Mr Kola Adewusi, Deputy Governor, gave the guarantee on Monday while greeting a JUSUN delegation led by its state chairman, Gbenga Eludire, who paid him a courtesy call.
Judiciary workers in the state have been on strike since November 22, when police dispersed them on the grounds of the Osun State High Court to prevent them from harassing the Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, whom they accused of abusing his position and denying them their rights.
The workers had previously picketed the court in protest of Ojo’s alleged indiscriminate suspension of personnel and nonpayment of their clothing allowances.
The deputy governor, who praised union members and leaders for standing up against injustice, stated that a harm to one was an injury to all.
A statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said:
“On behalf of the Osun State government, we want to applaud you for your maturity in the handling of the issue. We commend your approach to ventilating your grievances without resorting to violence.
“In some quarters they believe it was the Osun State government that had issue with the embattled Osun Chief Judge but we had to tell them that the CJ had issues with JUSUN, not the state government.
“Thank you for not allowing your protests to be hijacked. Thank you for raising an alarm on the issue and fighting for your members. An injury to one is an injury to all. I want to assure you that once the governor returns from vacation, all other demands will be looked into.
“We are aware of the conditions of your offices and our courts and I want to assure you that something will be done about it because we actually promised to take care of our workers and that promise will be kept.
“All the issues and complaints raised will be looked into. The state government is aware of the urgent need to attend to the condition of the courts around the state as well as the welfare of the judicial workers.”
cc: Punch Ng
