Concerned members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in Bauchi State have faulted the inability of the union to elect substantive leaders to manage its affairs for five years.
The state chapter of the union has been under various caretaking committees instituted by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the association following the controversial dissolution of the branch’s substantive leaders elected about five years ago.
Since then, the union has failed to elect substantive leaders, an omen that continues to worry many of its members.
A source familiar with the leadership imbroglio told LEADERSHIP that Murtala Muhammed who is now late was the last duly elected chairman of the union.
A few months after his victory, he was confirmed as a judge which prompted the NWC to dissolve the excos and “verbally” appointed a caretaker committee.
The source said the last crop of duly elected leaders of the union in Bauchi was ousted following their doggedness against “the exploitative tendencies of the national body.”
He alleged that the NWC used to receive null financial patronage from state excos, which is the sole factor that determines how long a set of excos would be in office.
He said that current narratives in Bauchi JUSUN suggested that in one way or the other, the national umbrella of professionals working in the temple of justice in Nigeria supported the continuous handling of the affairs of the union in the state through caretaker committee for either material or financial gain.
The Concerned Members of JUSUN Bauchi State Chapter in a letter to the chief registrar Bauchi State High Court dated 8th July, 2021 and made available to LEADERSHIP, noted with dismay how the body saddled with the chore of being the custodian of justice in the society, the situation at hand is “degenerating into a lawless” state.
JUSUN’s statue book stipulates a tenure of not more than three months for a caretaker committee subject to review of the NWC and four years for elected officials.
“With all due respect and sense of commitment, we write as Concerned Members of JUSUN Bauchi Branch to notify you of our decision to call for an emergency meeting of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) Bauchi Branch.
“This decision is informed by our collective desire to be the face of the Judiciary Staff of Bauchi State and truly represent the judiciary as men of conscience, considering our bitter reality over the years,” they said.
Source: Leadership
