The Senate yesterday passed for second reading, a bill for an Act to prescribe the salaries, allowances and fringe benefits of judicial office holders in Nigeria, and for related matters.
The bill intends to unify the salary structure as well as allowances and fringe benefits of Judicial Officers Holders both in the federal and at the state levels.
The bill, sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, scaled second reading following the debate on the proposal by Senators during plenary.
In his lead debate, Bamidele explained that the proposal was an executive bill, forwarded to the two Chambers of the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu, in accordance with the provisions of Section 58 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
According to him, one of the intendments of the legislation is to unify the salary structure as well as allowances and fringe benefits of Judicial Officers Holders both in the Federal and at the State levels.
The lawmaker stated further that when passed into law, the bill would bring about significant improvement in the welfare, capacity and independence of the Judiciary, which have been contentious issues of public discourse over the years.
He said, “The Bill, in a nutshell, seeks to prescribe salaries, allowances and fringe benefits for Judicial Officers in order to nip in the bud, the prolonged stagnation in their remuneration so as to reflect the contemporary socio-economic realities of our time.
“Similarly, the Bill intends to unify the salary structure as well as allowances and fringe benefits of Judicial Officers Holders both in the Federal and at the State levels.
“This proposed legal framework, undoubtedly, will bring about significant improvement in the welfare, capacity and independence of the Judiciary, which have been contentious issues of public discourse over the years.
“In conclusion, I wish to categorically state, that the purport and intent of this Bill are in conformity with the current administration’s resolve to strengthen the country’s Judiciary and the criminal justice system, with a view to ensuring its independence in the performance of its constitutional role, as the arbiter of the temple of justice.
“Accordingly, I implore Distinguished Senators to support the expeditious passage of this Bill in view of its importance to the socio-economic and political development of this country.”