Abia State branch of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has appealed to the state government and members of the state branch of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, to settle their differences and end the strike embarked by the judicial workers.

JUSUN had on April 22, suspended its four months industrial action, after the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Umeh Kalu, among others, on behalf of the state government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to call off the strike to enable the parties address some of the issues that led to the prolonged workers strike.

But JUSUN, Monday, in a statement by its state chairman,  Emmanuel Onyemereibeya, and secretary, Prince C. N. Ezeh, ordered its members to resume the strike, accusing the state government of failing to fulfil its own part of the agreement.

In a chat with Vanguard, chairman of NBA, Aba, Sir Chidozie Ogunji, who appealed to both parties to return to the negotiation table in the interest of the state, decried the closure of courts in the state.

“It is unfortunate that we are back to where we were few months ago. For now, we plead with the state government and JUSUN to return to the negotiation table and settle their differences in the interest of the state.

‘’We want JUSUN to understand that lawyers should work and the court should be open. Closing the court is the worst that can happen in a democracy,’’ Ogunji said.

He called on JUSUN to allow its members return to work, while it resumed negotiations with the state government.

Vanguard correspondent who went round the town, observed that the courts had remained under lock  since Monday as members of JUSUN had complied with the directive of their union to embark on strike until government fulfilled the agreement.

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