Judicial workers strike: How elections petitions in 15 states would sit

Even with the recent statement credited to the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa that states affected by the ongoing strike can relocate to the nearest states, the modalities are still uncertain. However, the PCA’s directive that the tribunals for Adamawa, Borno, Rivers and Yobe should sit in the Federal Capital Territory […]

Even with the recent statement credited to the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa that states affected by the ongoing strike can relocate to the nearest states, the modalities are still uncertain.
 However, the PCA’s directive that the tribunals for Adamawa, Borno, Rivers and Yobe should sit in the Federal Capital Territory for security reasons, has already been worked out as courtrooms and administrative secretariat provided for the purpose.
Acting on the provisions of Section 285 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, Justice Bulkachuwa had on constituted 77 panels for the Elections Petitions Tribunal across the country, with 255 members. The members were in February inaugurated by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed.
JUSUN had called off the strikes in states that have set up mechanism for the implementation of the pronouncements of two Federal High Courts in Abuja on January 13 and May 26, 2014 wherein they declared as unconstitutional the non-remittance of funds standing to the credit of the judiciary by the executive as provided in Sections 121 (3), 81(2) and 84(2) and (7) of the 1999 Constitution.
This leaves judicial workers in 15 states that have not complied with the verdict to continue the industrial action. The states are:  Ekiti, Kaduna, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa and Plateau.
 Others are: Benue, Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Osun, Ondo, Edo and Cross River states.
 No governorship elections tribunal panel has been set up for states where such elections did not hold. They are: Anambra, Kogi, Osun, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Ondo, and Edo.
 While suspending the strike on January 26, the national executive of JUSUN led by Marwan Mustapha said its decision was informed by the need to allow the courts to play a role in the country’s democratic process.
 Presidential and national assembly elections held on March 28 while governorship and state assembly elections held on April 11. But allegations of wide spread irregularities have resulted in civil complaints to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which in turn have directed them to the elections tribunals.
 The chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu while responding to a recent call to cancel the Rivers and Akwa Ibom states elections over alleged widespread irregularities, stated that INEC has no powers to annul the results of elections, maintaining that only election petitions tribunals has the powers to do so and order fresh elections in the affected states.