The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, announced that the Federal Government has commenced the implementation of a 300% pay increase for judicial officers.
He made this statement on Monday during the 12th Convocation ceremony of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) in Ekiti State.
“One ongoing concern before I took office was the poor remuneration of judicial officers,” the AGF said at the event’s grand finale where he was conferred with an honourary doctorate in Law.
“I am again pleased to report that a major intervention of the Tinubu administration in the judiciary is the recent 300% upward review of the remuneration of judicial officers in Nigeria across board. To be true, I can confirm that the implementation of this has begun in earnest.”
He called the move “an important first step” in President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to “strengthen the judiciary.”
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In August, Tinubu signed a bill into law that provides for a 300% increase in salaries and allowances for judicial officials.
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Fagbemi’s comments followed the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of local government autonomy, a decision many view as pivotal for the nation’s democratic progress.
Earlier this year, he had filed a lawsuit against the 36 state governors for the alleged mismanagement of local government funds.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court declared it illegal for states to hold local government funds. Prior to this ruling, local government allocations were deposited into a joint account controlled by state governments and local government areas.
Justice Emmanuel Agim mandated that future allocations from the federation account be paid directly to local government areas, rather than to state governments.
At the ABUAD Convocation, Fagbemi expressed his satisfaction with the ruling, highlighting the judiciary’s vital role in promoting democracy.
“This is our very modest contribution to the strengthening of our foundation and invariably the country’s democracy,” Fagbemi said.
The Attorney General also announced that the Federal Government will undertake a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s laws to better address the country’s evolving needs.
“We have assembled a team of legal luminaries to achieve this within a very limited timeframe,” the minister of justice said.
“This law review intervention will cut across all aspects of our social, economic, and political life.”
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