Union Berates NJC’s Interference In Rivers Judiciary

The Joint Public Service
Negotiating Council (JPSNC) in Rivers State has berated the National Judicial Council (NJC) for its interference in the state judiciary.
Speaking to The Tide in Port Harcourt yesterday, the union’s chairman, Comrade Emecheta Chukwu, said the union condemned in its totality the interference of the NJC in the affairs of the state judiciary that has precipitated crisis in the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge for the State.
Chukwu said the joint council was in total support of the strike action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in the state.
He queried where NJC derived the power  to appoint acting Chief Judge for the state, stressing that NJC had not acted in accordance with the provision of the constitution.
The joint council chairman explained that the position of NJC was in total contradiction of the provision of the Constitution.
He said members of the joint council in the state would mobilise support for the judiciary workers as a union within the public service sector in the state.
Chukwu emphasised that JUSUN’s security concern must be addressed properly by  relevant authorities as a condition for the union to suspend its industrial action.
He also charged the management of Zenith Bank Plc to ensure expeditious and prompt payment of salaries of the  workers.
Chukwu said delay in salary payment was always occasioned by the lackadaisical attitude of the bank to credit the workers accounts.
The labour leader said the state government was committed to prompt payment of salaries, stressing that necessary machinery had been put in place to effectively monitor prompt salary payment before the end of each month.