Workers of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the National Judicial Council (NJC), and the Federal High Court have withdrawn from the nationwide industrial action scheduled for June 2 by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
The Supreme Court workers cited the intervention of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, as the primary reason for their decision. According to a communique signed by 12 principal officers of the Supreme Court Chapter of JUSUN, led by Chairman Comrade Danladi Nda, the workers received "cogent and verifiable assurances" from the CJN following a closed-door meeting.
"With CJN's commendable efforts, we owe her our unwavering support in order to get the expected allowances and others paid," the communique stated. "Joining the June 2 strike will amount to misplacement of priority and neglect and will result in exercise in futility."
Similarly, the NJC, through its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joel Ebiloma, announced that a two-week grace period has been granted to authorities to address their demands. The NJC statement explained that the strike postponement would allow stakeholders to engage with the Accountant General of the Federation regarding the release of statutory allocations to the Judiciary based on the 2025 Appropriation.
These allocations reportedly include arrears of the Wage Award, minimum wage, and the 25%/35% salary increase that have been captured in the budget.
According to sources close to the matter, the CJN has already visited the Presidency to present the workers' demands and has received concrete assurances from various federal government agencies that the issues would be resolved soon.
The Supreme Court chapter of JUSUN has reportedly commenced discussions with all federal chapters to persuade them to reconsider the planned nationwide industrial action.
"We urge those insisting to participate in the strike action to be patient and calm and go along with the CJN to achieve deserved result," the Supreme Court workers' communique concluded.
