Financial autonomy will end judiciary’s infrastructure problems – JUSUN

They also commended the President, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen and his predecessors, for their roles leading to the passage of the new law. The union’s president, Mr. Marwan Adamu, said at a press conference in Abuja that with the new law, the days of the judiciary conducting courts in rented shops would be over. Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, had said that President Buhari signed the Constitution Fourth Alteration Bill, which provides for among other things the “financial authonomy and independence” of the Houses of Assembly and the judiciary of the respective states”. “Therefore, upon this signature, the amounts standing to the credit of the judiciary are to be paid directly to the judiciary of those states, no more through the governors and no more from the governors,” Enang had said. Reacting, the JUSUN President said the development was a vindication of the union’s “years of struggle to liberate the judiciary, from the shackles of under-funding, poor budgetary allocation and execution.” He said the situation before the new bill was signed into law by Buhari, had left “the nation with a deprived third arm of government that must go cap in hand to the executive, particularly at state levels, in order to survive”. He said the new law would help the judiciary to rise above the problems of infrastructure and poor welfare of its staff. He said, “Today, we feel vindicated that President Buhari, the National Assembly, the state legislatures, and all other stakeholders who contributed to the actualisation of the new legal provision, finally took this path towards making the nation’s judiciary great again. “We hope to see a new judiciary without dilapidated courts and an end to operating in rented shops and houses. We look forward to a conducive working environment that would lead to smooth delivery of justice in the country. “We also hope that the doctrine of separation of power has come to stay. “However, we urge both the federal and state judiciaries to ensure an improved welfare of our members by implementing the unified consolidated salary structure for judiciary workers.” Adamu, who said his union was part of the public hearing conducted by the National Assembly which led to the passage of the new law, noted that the union had always been worried by the poor funding of the judiciary. He said, “But it is heartwarming that the fourth alteration to the Constitution signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last week has deepened the financial autonomy and the independence of the judiciary by removing the hands of the executive arm of government completely from the financial affairs.” He commended President Buhari, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Sraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the past and present Chief Justices of Nigeria, members of the state’s and national assemblies, civil society groups, JUSUN members nationwide, the media and other stakeholders too numerous to mention, for their roles they played in process and steps leading to the passage of the new law. The union had in 2013 gone to court for the enforcement of the constitutional provisions on the funding of the judiciary. “Justice Adeniyi Ademola (now retired) of the Federal High Court in Abuja in a landmark judgment delivered on January 13, 2014, agreed with us and made several orders, including one abolishing ‘piecemeal payments/allocations of funds through states’ ministries of finance to the states’ judiciary,” Adamu said.]]>