Election petition tribunals sitting across the country would shut down this week as the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) noted that it would join the Nigeria Labour Congress in a nationwide strike over the removal of federal subsidies on petrol.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu announced the end of fuel subsidy upon assumption of office last week, a move that has set the country on dire economic straits.
In a memo dated June 3, the judicial workers’ union stated that its members would embark on a solidarity protest strike with the Nigeria Labour Congress, on Wednesday.
The memo read: “This is to inform all branches and chapters of our great union across Nigeria to begin mobilisation for a nationwide action and withdrawal of service.”
JUSUN, has over 120,000 members, and is the latest union from a vital sector to join the budding industrial action led by the NLC.
Over the weekend, the National Union of Electricity Employees also notified its members to withdraw services in protest against fuel subsidy removal.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari, who vacated office on May 29, had planned that subsidies on petrol would expire by the end of June, eliminating provisions for the critical policy in the 2023 budget.
Mr Tinubu, an ally of Mr Buhari’s who had vowed to continue the ruling APC’s policies, swiftly embraced the policy, pronouncing in his inaugural speech on May 29 that “subsidy is gone”.
His pronouncement triggered panic across the country as citizens rushed to buy fuel while oil marketers suddenly increased pump prices.