Malami: Judges’ welfare topmost priority of Buhari’s govt

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said the improvement of the remuneration and conditions of service of judicial officers remains uppermost on the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the AGF said this in his address at the 2022 Court of Appeal Annual Legal year.

Malami said: “The government of the day is not oblivious of this persistent challenge. Amidst our revenue challenges as a nation, coupled with various demand for wage increase, one certain assurance I can make to this noble gathering is that the improvement of the remuneration and conditions of service of our judicial officers is uppermost on the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

He noted that the ongoing process of improving the welfare package of the judicial officers would be completed, in accordance with extant constitutional and statutory provisions, adding that the available appropriation figures also bear testament to the fact of a progressively upward review of annual budgetary appropriation to the judiciary under President Buhari.

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The AGF said while the budget of the judiciary declined from N95 billion in 2010 to N68 billion in 2014, there was an upward swing in 2015 from N73 billion to N120 billion in 2022 (being the highest in the history of the judiciary).

Malami added that the Federal Government also made special budgetary provision to cater for special assignments associated with national elections.

“The Federal Government under the leadership of President Buhari will not rest on its oars in its quest for increased funding for the judiciary,” he said.

The AGF, however, commended the foresight of the President of the Court of Appeal in taking proactive steps towards an effective discharge of the onerous constitutional mandate over the outcome of elections.

He said these notable steps included engagement with relevant stakeholders, especially with the advent of the 2022 Electoral Act.

“I am also gladdened that His Lordship has inaugurated a 13-man Electoral Judicial Manual Committee (EJMC) that will see to the issuance of the Maiden Edition of the Electoral Judicial Manual, which will provide an operational framework and reference guide for the determination of election petitions,” Malami stated.

The Star