Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari approved and ordered that steps be taken for the immediate implementation of the improved salary and welfare scheme for judicial officials.
President Buhari made this known on Friday, 18 November 2022 at the official commissioning and handing over ceremony of the Nabo Graham-Douglass campus of the Nigerian Law School, Port Harcourt to the Council of Legal Education.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN represented President Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion, according to a statement issued to newsmen on Friday by Dr. Umar J|ibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant for Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
According to the statement, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the chairman of the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to immediately begin measures for the realization and implementation of an improved salary and welfare plan for judicial officials in the country.
The president said this and many other initiatives were aimed at significantly strengthening the capacity and independence of the judiciary, which he said remained a pillar of strength and stability for the nation’s democracy.
“This administration will, therefore, continue to support efforts to transform the judiciary, as part of a critical strategy, in ensuring a fair, progressive and prosperous society, with the rule of law as its cornerstone,” he said.
Mr. President also called on the judiciary to continue to uphold the ethics of their profession and operate with accountability and probity in the exercise of their judicial and administrative duties.
He also charged the Council of Legal Education to sustain the trust by optimally maintaining and running the project in furtherance of the quest to improve and sustain high standards in legal education.
“The legal profession thrives on sound learning, ethical values, and good character; therefore, it is our abiding duty to sustain high standards for those on whose shoulders rest the future of both the bar and the bench,” he said.
The President also commended the Governor of River State, Nyesom Wike, and congratulated the people of the state, the Council on Legal Education, Nigerian Law and the entire family of the judicial sector for the initiative, which he said culminated in the construction and delivery of the new campus to the Council of Legal Education, Faculty of Law of Nigeria.
He described as commendable the naming of the new campus in honor of Nabo Graham-Douglas, SAN; former Attorney General of Eastern Nigeria, Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Rivers State and Attorney General of the Federation.
SKJ