President Bola Tinubu has signed a bill seeking a 300% increase in salaries and allowances for judicial officials. This is coming weeks after ordinary workers settled for a meagre increase in the minimum wage amidst worsening economic hardships.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters Basheer Lado, the new Act “prescribes salaries, allowances, etc., for Judicial Officers to reflect the changing realities and consequentially amend the provisions of the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.), Act, No.6, 2002 (as amended) to delete the provisions relating to Judicial Office Holders.”
He argued that the Tinubu administration was committed to the “welfare of Nigerian workers above all else”. However, it took months of protests, shutting down the national grid and uncountable meetings with union leaders before he approved a 134 per cent increase in the minimum wage for workers.
“This extraordinary move underscores President’s absolute prioritisation of the welfare of Nigerian workers above all else, just like he did when he recently put on hold an ongoing Federal Executive Council meeting to assent to the new National Minimum Wage Bill of N70,000,” Lado said.
“The prescription of salaries, allowances, and other benefits for Judicial Officers,” he said.
“The amendment of Certain Political, Public, and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) Act, No.6, 2002 (as amended), which provides for deleting provisions relating to Judicial Office Holders from the Act above,” he added.
In June, the Senate approved the bill to increase the salaries and allowances of judicial workers after it passed a third reading. Lado thanked the National Assembly for “prioritising the welfare of Nigerians by passing and transmitting the executive Bill”.
“The judiciary remains the hope of the common man, and it is hoped that Nigerians seeking justice get it irrespective of their status in life,” he said.
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