FG Has Started Implementing 300% Salary Hike For Judicial Officers, Says AGF
Lateef Fagbemi, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, says the Federal Government has begun to implement the 300% wage increase for judicial officers.
Fagbemi made the statement on Monday during the 12th Convocation ceremony of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), in Ekiti State.
At the event’s grand conclusion, where he got an honorary doctorate in law, the AGF noted, “One ongoing concern before I took office was the poor remuneration of judicial officers.”
“I am glad to report that the Tinubu administration has made a significant intervention in the judiciary with a recent 300% increase in the salary of judicial officers across Nigeria. To be honest, I can confirm that the implementation has begun in earnest.”
He called the action “an important first step” in the President Bola Tinubu administration’s efforts to “strengthen the judiciary.”
Tinubu passed a measure into law in August calling for a 300% rise in judicial pay and allowances.
His remark came months after the Supreme Court’s recent decision in favour of local government autonomy, which many have regarded as a watershed moment in the country’s democratic history.
Earlier this year, Justice Fagbemi sued 36 state governors for alleged abuse of local government finances.
Months later, the Supreme Court determined that states cannot keep local government funding.
Prior to the ruling, state governments and LGAs in their respective domains transferred local government monies into a common account.
Justice Emmanuel Agim decided that future allocations from the federation account be paid directly to local government regions rather than state government coffers.
At the ABUAD Convocation, Fagbemi praised the decision, saying it was the judiciary’s contribution to democracy.
“This is our very modest contribution to the strengthening of our foundation and invariably the country’s democracy,” Fagbemi told journalists.
The AGF also stated that the Federal Government will conduct a comprehensive review of Nigerian laws to address the country’s daily demands.
“We have assembled a team of legal luminaries to achieve this within a very limited timeframe,” the minister of justice stated.
“This law review intervention will cut across all aspects of our social, economic, and political life.”