The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, did not sit on Wednesday due to the ongoing two-day warning strike imposed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The tribunal had fixed September 6 for the delivery of judgment in a petition, EPT/OG/SEN/2023, filed against the Senator representing Ogun West, Olamilekan Adeola, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ganiyu Dada.
But, the judgment was stalled after judicial workers shut the gate of the Magistrates court, venue of the tribunal.
Leaders of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) locked up the gate in compliance with the NLC warning strike.
The State Chairman of JUSUN, Olanrewaju Ajiboye said judicial workers locked the gate in compliance with the national body’s directive on the two-day warning strike.
“The tribunal is expected to sit today but the judges are unable to sit because we have locked the gate of the Court in compliance with the directive of the NLC national body. This is why the tribunal can not sit today,” he said.
When his attention was called to the fact that election tribunal proceedings are time bound, Ajiboye retorted: “We can’t throw the gate open and allow the tribunal to sit; that will mean we intentionally sabotaged the struggle of the workers.
“The tribunal has the right to sit anywhere but this is our own premises, we can always close it as directed by the national body of the union.”
The warning strike is in protest against the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy, began on Tuesday and is expected to end at the close of work today.
It has since achieved partial compliance among workers in Ogun State.
