The attention of JUSUN, Akwa Ibom State Chapter has been drawn to an online publication by an Akwa Ibom State- based lawyer, Anietie Inyang, Esq. calling on His Excellency, Gov. Udom Emmanuel, to meet with lawyers to resolve the hardship occasioned by the ongoing nationwide strike action by members of JUSUN who are clamouring for Financial Autonomy for the Judiciary.

Whereas we are not in a position to detect who His Excellency , the Governor chooses to meet with, we wish , however to react to the aforementioned by remarking that such a ploy to fragment the “face” of the struggle can only be counter productive as same has the propensity of creating suspicion and confusing the issues that have given rise to the strike action in the first place.
The fact that the fortunes or “hardship” of Lawyers and by extension , the N.B.A who have a veritable stake in the Justice sector have been adversely impacted by the present happenstance can not be gainsaid.
The Union salutes the love and solidarity shown by the N.B.A in this very trying time and more particularly the solidarity march of Monday , 19th April 2021 undertaken by the different branches of the N.B.A in the state . However, the Union is of the persuasion that care should be taken in order not to trivialize the struggle and the Union regrets that the suggestion made by the Learned Counsel in his online post has the tendency of doing exactly this.

His Excellency, Gov. Udom Emmanuel needs to meet with members of JUSUN as the primary stakeholders in this struggle, whose clamour for Financial Autonomy to the Judiciary has occasioned the total lock-down of courts across the country and in the state, and not lawyers, who only lend their solidarity to our struggle.

What members of JUSUN, Akwa Ibom State Chapter can interpret from the comments of Barr. Anietie Inyang is that counsel is trying to incite lawyers to hijack and take over the struggle of members of JUSUN to give lawyers an undeserved priority and relevance to use such opportunity to meet with the State Governor, rather than JUSUN, whose struggle started three weeks ago, clamouring on the streets, keeping watch over the premises of courts under the sun, when lawyers were nowhere to be found. This goes further to confirm the reaction of the Chairman of JUSUN, Akwa Ibom State Chapter, when he was on a radio interview on Tuesday 20/4/2021 condemning the attempt by NBA Chairmen of Eket, Oron and Ikot Ekpene, respectively, in attempting to stifle the protest of members of JUSUN that held on Monday 19/4/2021.

Counseling should note that the Governors of other states who met with lawyers also met with JUSUN in their various states. Priority and due relevance must not be misplaced or struggled for during this clamour, the State Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, needs to meet with JUSUN as the major stakeholder in this struggle, together with other stakeholders in the Justice system and not only lawyers.

Our reaction is brought in good faith without malice. We are grateful to the Nigerian Bar Association for their solidarity to JUSUN in one way or the other in the course of this struggle.

Idongesit Mbat
Public Relations Officer (P.R.O)
JUSUN, Akwa Ibom State Chapter