President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to pass his bill on new judicial officers’ remuneration given the N342 billion-naira statutory allocation for the judiciary.
The president’s request was captured in his letter read out by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, during plenary on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
Tinubu explained that the new bill for the judiciary is germane because of current economic realities.
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The letter reads,
“Transmission Of the Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc) Bill, 2024
- “In accordance with the provisions of Section 58(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended), I forward, herewith, the Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc) Bill, 2024 for the kind consideration of the House of Representatives.
- “The Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc) Bill, 2024 seeks to prescribe salaries, allowances and fringe benefits for Judicial Officers, to end the prolonged stagnation in their remuneration and to reflect contemporary socio- economic realities.
- “The Bill, which establishes a new legal framework for the remuneration of Judicial Officers, will also ensure significant improvement in the welfare, capacity and independence of the Judiciary.
- “Whilst I hope that the Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, Etc) Bill, 2024 will be carefully yet expeditiously considered and passed by the House of Representatives, please accept, Rt. Hon. Speaker, the assurances of my highest esteem.”
What you should know
- Nairametrics recalls that the National Assembly passed the 2024 appropriation bill in January, raising its size from Tinubu’s proposed N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
- Tinubu’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale quoted the president saying afterward that “Funding the judiciary is a major element in our effort to support a just, rules-based society. Statutory transfer to the Judiciary has been increased from 165 billion naira to 342 billion naira”.
- An upward review of the budgetary allocations for the judiciary has been a request made by the National Judicial Council, as well as the Nigerian Bar Association, over the years.
- In recent meeting of the ECOWAS Judicial Council, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, said that inadequate funding is crippling the rule of law in Nigeria and other West African countries.
