PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has transmitted a letter to the Senate to approve a new bill seeking to provide new salaries and allowances for judicial officers in Nigeria.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read the president’s request during the plenary on Wednesday, March 20.
The proposed law seeks to prescribe salaries, allowances, and other fringe benefits for judicial officers.
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In November 2022, former president Muhammadu Buhari directed the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to take measures for the immediate implementation of an enhanced salary and welfare package for judicial officers.
Buhari’s directive followed the National Industrial Court order in Abuja on the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to increase the salaries and allowances of judges in the country.
In the judgement delivered by Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osagie, the court noted that judges’ and justices’ salaries have stagnated for over 14 years.
Obaseki-Osagie also ordered that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) be paid N10 million monthly, while Supreme Court Justices would receive N9 million monthly.
Meanwhile, Tinubu, in the letter, said when approved, the bill titled “Judicial office holders, salaries and allowances, etc, bill 2024,” would generate a new legal framework for the remuneration of judicial officers to improve their welfare.
He also said the bill would promote the welfare capacity and independence of the Nigerian judiciary system.
“The judicial office holders, salaries and allowances, etc, bill 2024 seeks to prescribe salaries, allowances, and benefits for judicial officers to end the prolonged stagnation in their remuneration and to reflect contemporary social 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,” Tinubu said in the letter.
He, therefore, urged the lawmakers to consider and approve the bill expeditiously.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M