President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, accused governors of causing the country so much pain as a result of the strike of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria.
Judiciary workers, under the aegis of JUSUN, had embarked on a 64-day strike over the governors’ refusal to implement autonomy for state judiciary.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last year signed Executive Order 10 for the enforcement of the autonomy of the judiciary, which the 36 governors opposed.
Buhari spoke when hosted the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) at the State House, Abuja, on Friday.
The President, who also spoke on his commitment to power devolution to the people, said, “I remain an unapologetic believer in devolving power to the people and that is why I signed the Executive Order granting autonomy to State Legislature and Judiciary. Unfortunately, this was met with some resistance at the state level and led to a more than two months strike action that has caused the country a lot of pain.
“Luckily, the National Assembly has nearly completed the constitutional review process, which I hope would address some of the burning issues agitating the minds of our people.’’
Buhari also spoke about the effect of the strike, lamenting its security implication.
“Fortunately, this strike has been called off and prosecution of some of these people (those behind insecurity) would soon commence, while our security agencies expand their network in closing in on the others,’’ he added.
NIREC was led by Co-Chairmen, Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar and President of Christian Association of Nigeria, His Eminence, Rev. Dr. Samson Supo Ayokunle.