*Commends Wike over completion of N17bn Law School in Rivers
In what can be regarded as a deliberate measure to ensure realistic wages and prevent compromise in the judiciary, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate implementation of the enhanced salary and welfare scheme for Nigerian judicial officers.
Buhari disclosed this on Friday during the official inauguration and handing over ceremony of Dr Nabo Graham-Douglass Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Port Harcourt to the Council of Legal Education (CLE).
The law campus was built and furnished by the administration of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike at a whopping cost of N17billion.
TheIdeal recalls that Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae of the National Industrial Court in Abuja had in a landmark judgment on July 15, held that the current salaries and allowances of judicial officers in the county “is not only abysmally low but embarrassing’, saying that the salaries of judges and justices have remained stagnant for over 14 years.
The judge consequently directed the Federal Government to put the machinery in place for immediate review of the salaries and allowances of judicial officers and pay them living wages accordingly.
Responding to the court verdict, Buhari had during the inauguration of the Body of Benchers (BoB) Complex in Abuja, promised that necessary action was being put in place to increase the salaries and allowances of judicial officers.
Buhari, who was represented at the event by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said enhanced welfare scheme for judicial workers and many other initiatives are targeted at significantly strengthening the capacity and independence of the judiciary which remains a pillar of strength and stability for our democracy.
AGF Malami said, “Let me use this opportunity also to inform you that as part of the effort to enhance the welfare of judicial officers, Mr President has recently approved an enhanced salary and welfare scheme for judicial officers and accordingly directed the Chairman, Revenue Mobilization and Allocation Fiscal Commission (RMAFC ) and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to promptly commence measures towards the realisation and implementation of these directives.”
Malami further pledged that the Buhari administration will continue with efforts to transform the judiciary as part of a critical strategy in ensuring a fair, progressive, and prosperous society with the rule of law as its cornerstone.
The President also commended Governor Wike for completing the project within one year after he was granted approval, describing the development as an exceptional record time for a project of such magnitude.
Lauding Wike for his infrastructural development of Rivers State, Buhari said it is in recognition of the numerous landmark projects that the governor has executed for the human and economic development of the state that made him discard political considerations to confer Wike with the Excellence Award in Public Service in October.
Malami also said, “The legal profession thrives on sound learning, ethical values, and good character: therefore, it is our abiding duty to sustain high standards for those on whose shoulders rest the future of both the bar and the bench’’.
He commended Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and congratulated the people of the State and the entire justice sector family for the initiative.
He noted that the initiative culminated in the building and handing over of the new campus to the Council of Legal Education, Nigerian Law School.
He also commended the naming of the newly commissioned campus after Nabo Graham-Douglas, SAN.
Graham-Douglas was a former Attorney-General of Eastern Nigeria, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Rivers State, and later the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The inauguration of the seventh campus of the Nigerian Law School was attended by legal luminaries, many dignitaries including senators, members of the House of Representatives and members of the Council of Legal Education among others.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae further held in the landmark judgment that despite the increased workload of judicial officers, they have continued to suffer in penury owing to their “extremely low salaries and allowances”.
The judge consequently ordered the Federal Government to commence a monthly payment of N10 million to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), while that of the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) was raised to N9 million.
Justice Obaseki-Osaghae also directed that the monthly pay for Justices of Supreme Court (JSCs) should be N9 million; Justices of Court of Appeal (JCAs), Chief Judges, President of the National Industrial Court, Grand Khadis, and President of Customary Courts are to earn N8million while the salary of other judges was raised to N7million.
The judge further directed that the court order should be served on the RMAFC and the AGF for their necessary attention.
