Reps seek increase of remuneration for judicial officers

The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to increase the remuneration of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and judicial officers in line with present economic realities.

This followed the adoption of a motion on the ‘Need to Review Remunerations of Judicial Officers and Increase the Statutory Transfer to the Nation’s Judiciary’, sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Onofiok Akpan Luke.
He said the salary of the judicial officers was last reviewed by the RMAFC in 2007 when the official exchange rate was N124 to $1 and the minimum wage was N5,000.

“The House further notes that the non-remuneration of judicial officers is partly caused by making the remuneration of judicial officers with political and public office holders in the same law.
“The House is disturbed that it is unfair, unconscionable, unjust and unrealistic that in the face of the several restrictions on the conduct of judicial officers, the judicial officers receive a meager salary when compared with prevalent economic realities, thereby rendering them vulnerable to corruption”, he said.

The House also urged the Federal Government to, in line with judicial autonomy, accede to the increase in statutory transfer to the judiciary in the coming fiscal year.