President Bola Tinubu’s proposed 300 percent increase in the salaries and allowances of judicial office holders has received the backing of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC) and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Also in support of the planned review are the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Wale Edun, the National Judicial Council (NJC), and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
They okayed the plan during a one-day public hearing on “A Bill for an Act to prescribe the salaries and allowances and fringe benefit of judicial office holders in Nigeria and related matters, 2024.” by the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters in Abuja yesterday
Fagbemi in his presentation, urged the committee to note that efforts to improve the remuneration of judicial officers in the country have a chequered history.
He said: “I wish to remark that the judicial office holders (salaries and allowances, etc.) Bill 2024 is quite innovative, aside from the increment in the basic salary, it also took cognizance of certain peculiarities of the administrative structure and operation of the judiciary.
“This bill will birth an appropriate and commensurate remuneration that will ensure judicial independence and integrity.
“The present-day but sad reality is that the judiciary has stagnated on the same salary scale for over 16 years, this is totally unacceptable and quite antithetical to any meaningful judicial reform.
“I strongly commend this bill for your kind consideration and do urge the Senate to support and ensure the passage of this Bill in the national interest of promoting the rule of law.”
Fagbemi added that the Justice Ministry, the judiciary, and other key stakeholders were also interested in ensuring a holistic review of our justice system.
This, according to him, explains why he is ‘’taking immediate/urgent steps to establish a Working Group on the review of the 1999 Constitution and other relevant laws.
The working group will, among others, ‘’focus on the key provisions aimed at achieving the judiciary that responds to evolving justice needs of Nigerians.’’
“At the appropriate time, and I promise, very soon, we will come up with proposals for Constitutional and statutory reforms of the judiciary in particular, and the administration of the justice system in general,” the minister promised.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN) Kayode Ariwoola, represented by Borno State Chief Judge Kashim Zannah, said Nigerians would continue to suffer from the nation’s judiciary system until salaries, allowances, and other benefits of judges are increased.
“When judges are well compensated, yes, they do their best. But actually, as clearly demonstrated, the real interest that is being looked at is the interest of these citizens because they will be the ones who suffer the consequences of a deprived judiciary,” said Ariwoola, who is also NJC chairman.
The CJN equated the condition of judges to that of a patient in an intensive care unit that needs serious medical attention.
He said: “In a nutshell, what we are saying is this: The situation of judges across Nigeria is like one in a critical condition in the ICU.
“The schedule to the bill would stabilise the patient. The one contained in the appropriation door would have him moved from the ICU to the general ward. When a patient is in that condition, you don’t start physiotherapy at the ICU.
“You make sure he is stabilised, moved to the general ward, gains some strength, and then you now look at physiotherapy and all other therapists. That, in a nutshell, is our presentation…
“Do move quickly, move the patient out of the ICU to the general ward, and then we will come. In fact, our starting point will now be a reference to the chairman’s very own observation about gratuities and allowances.
“But for now, let’s stabilise the patient, move him out of ICU, and then we can talk about the rest later.”
RMAFC’s Chairman Mohammed Shehu narrated how they worked on the proposal by the President that was transmitted to the National Assembly for consideration.
He said the commission which is statutorily charged with the responsibility of monitoring accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account, said supported the proposal based on current realities.
Shehu said: “We completed our work on the review of salaries of judicial officers but the fuel subsidy removal on May 29, 2023, and the changes in the economic situation rendered that report completely unimplementable. So, we went back to the drawing board.
“The Attorney-General contacted the commission on the directives of the President, and he directed the commission to go back and look at that report that we submitted to the former president(Muhammadu Buhari) and consider the new situation.
“And that was what we did. We looked at the consumer price index and inflation rate. We also did a comparative analysis of countries like Ghana, Ethiopia, India, Rwanda, the UK(United Kingdom), and the United States and we discovered that the Nigerian judiciary generally is really at the bottom of the rung.
‘’When we presented our recommendation, Mr President looked at it and asked a number of questions– whether we have done an analysis of the affordability of the changes that are going to be in the law? whether the system can afford it. and whether it is sustainable.
‘’I said yes.
Edun, who also supported the bill, said: I have listened to the Attorney-General. I cannot but follow him. He is the authority in government law.
“I cannot but follow him in commending this bill and requesting its swift passage to the benefit of the judiciary in particular and Nigerians in general.”
The President of the NBA, Yakubu Maikyau, said the proposed increase would help strengthen the independence of the judiciary.
