Crisis Hits Kogi Judiciary As Chief Registrar Is Alleged of Abuse of Office
By Wale Abideen/ Managing Editor/ The Chief Registrar of the Kogi state Judiciary has been described as a lawyer who does not believe in strict compliance with the provisions of the law of federal Republic of Nigeria. Particularly, the registrar is alleged of biased and engaging in activity tantamount to abuse of public office. The Kogi state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Public Service Reportorial Secretarial, Data Processor and Allied Workers who has been having serious crisis with the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria in the state (JUSUN) over membership poaching claims that the Chief Registrar places the constitution of JUSUN above the law of Nigeria and the official gazette N0. 6 of 1978 that establishes the union.
The secretarial staff maintains that activity of the Chief Registrar over their crisis with JUSUN is capable of throwing the entire Kogi State Judicial Service into unnecessary litigation and prolonged crisis. Investigations however depict that the Chief Registrar is a beneficiary of the crisis as he was said to be a member of JUSUN.
In a petition to the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, signed by Comrade Michael Omoikhunu, principal state secretary of the group, the secretarial staff noted that they have written to the Chief Registrar through the Chief Judge of the state over the matter but solution seems to be farfetched. The union is calling on the NBA to prevail on the Chief Registrar which according to their petition “is a lawyer and member of the NBA.”
In the petition which was obtained by SECURITY MONITOR, the union argues that all avenues to seek amicable resolution of the matter were blocked by the registrar who according to them insists on litigation to resolve the crisis. The union alleged JUSUN of membership poaching and to them the registrar seems to be “misinterpreting the trade union amendment act of 2006 which is an act of national Assembly which states that: membership of trade unions must be voluntary”. They further argued that the act does not guarantee absolute voluntarism hence eight unions can operate in a ministry without crisis.
The Union of Public Service Reportorial Secretarial, Data Processor and Allied Workers added that the Ministry of Labour and Productivity has waded into the matter where all stakeholders were invited to the ministry and it was that the ministry will seek further clarification from higher authority in Abuja. They lament that Kogi State Judiciary Chief Registrar is a member of JUSUN which is a total aberration to the law as Judicial Management Staff should not be members of trade union.
Kogi State NLC Chairman Comrade Onu Edoka was said to have intervened and requested that JUSUN Chairman should provide the nominal role of all secretarial staff but this was not carried out by JUSUN and its executive till date.
It was said that various interventions by the NLC, Kogi state Head of Civil Service and others including some judges in the state were ignored as the Chief Registrar blatantly take side with JUSUN to rape secretarial staff union of its legitimate right. The aggrieved secretarial staff union has however vouched to press on it demands till justice is served.
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