According to Nigerian Tribune, the federal and state governments across the country have finally agreed on granting financial autonomy to the judicial sector; as provided for in sections 81(3), 121(3) and 162(9) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. To this end, the implementation of the constitutional provision is to commence in the next two weeks, when the next Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting will be held. The decision followed an order by the Federal High Court, Abuja, on January 13, which directed that funds/amount standing to the credit of states’ judiciary in the Federation/Consolidated Revenue Fund be paid directly to head of courts in various states, in compliance with sections of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. Already, the Accountant General of the Federation has been directed to commence implementation of the judgment during the next Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, holding in Abuja in the next two weeks. The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has consistently put pressure on the government, following the court ruling. The union had also planned to resume its suspended nationwide strike today, if the issue is not resolved. It had earlier given a seven-day ultimatum after a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and other stakeholders on November 19, which comes to an end today. However, in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached and signed at the end of a meeting held with the Supervising Minister of Labour and Productivity, Kabiru Turaki and other stakeholders last week Thursday, it was concluded that the Accountant General of the Federation should make deductions during the next FAAC meeting to the National Judicial Council (NJC), in line with the court judgment. “Based on the above, it was concluded that the AGF will make deductions during the next FAAC meeting to the NJC, in line with the court judgment, based on the actual funds released that can be defended by the respective states and concurred by JUSUN,” the MoU said. It also stated that the deductions would be done based on the actual funds that could be defended by the respective states and concurred by JUSUN. The MoU was jointly signed by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Clement Illoh; the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla; JUSUN President, Marwan Mustapha Adamu and the Director, Home Finance, Federal Ministry of Finance, K. Zaji. Following the agreement, the signing of the MoU and the directive to the Accountant General of the Federation, JUSUN also agreed to put on hold the threat to resume its suspended strike today, Nigerian Tribune reported.