In a bid to curb bribery and corruption and ensure independence of the judiciary, the Senate has kick started moves to review salaries, allowances and fringe benefits of judicial office holders in Nigeria.
The executive bill seeking to prescribe the salaries of the judicial office holders both at the federal and state levels scaled second reading on Thursday and is expected to nip in the bud the prolonged stagnation in remuneration to reflect the current socio-economic realities.
Even though the bill was unanimously embraced, some lawmakers canvassed that in the face of the current economic hardship, salaries/ remuneration of Nigerians in other sectors be equally reviewed.
The bill was, thereafter, referred to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters to report back in four weeks.
This is coming two months after President Bola Tinubu presented a bill to the upper chamber, asking the lawmakers to review the salaries of judicial officers in the country.
Tinubu in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during plenary on March 20, said that when approved, it would generate a new legal framework for the remuneration of judicial officers to improve their welfare.
The President is optimistic that the bill titled “Judicial office holders, salaries and allowances, etc, bill 2024,” would promote the welfare capacity and independence of the Nigerian judiciary system.
