From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that striking parliamentary workers under the aegis of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), will henceforth forfeit their salaries until they call off their on-going strike in the State.
The governor maintained that his administration has fully implemented full financial autonomy for legislature. Hence, there is no justification for the closure of the State House of Assembly.
Governor Wike, who reiterated that his administration is not owing parliamentary workers, described the current strike as a disservice to the government and Rivers people
He explained that the enforcement of a “no-work, no-pay” policy has come into force in Rivers State and parliamentary workers could no longer sit at home and expect salary anymore.
Similarly, Governor Wike had earlier directed the Accountant-General of the State not to pay judiciary workers for the first week of June, in which the ‘no work-no pay policy’ was in force.
It would be recalled that the State government had warned that it would enforce the “no-work no-pay” policy, if JUSUN in the State fails to call off the strike by May 31.
Governor Wike hinged the State government’s decision not to pay JUSUN members for the first week of June, on the union’s failure to heed the directive to resume work before May 31, reiterated that Rivers State had been implementing full financial autonomy of the judiciary and that the strike was, therefore, unnecessary in the first place.
The governor maintained that the State government will not set up any budget implementation committee because it is unknown to law.
He said: “Rivers State government is in full support of financial autonomy of the judiciary and have been implementing same. We have stated it before that we are not going to set up any budget monitoring committee in the State because it is unnecessary”.
Governor Wike explained that under a federal system of government, it is only the executive arm of government, at all the tiers, that has the powers to present the annual budget to either State or National Assembly and also signed it into law.
He further asserted that Rivers State people are law abiding and would continue to insist that every action of government must be predicated on the rule of law.