Senate has passed a bill seeking to increase the salaries and allowances of judges at all levels.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Senate passed the bill for the third reading on Wednesday after the chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Mohammed Monguno presented a report.
The legislation passed the second reading at the senate in May after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu requested them to pass the bill.
The passing of the bill by the House of Representatives, and signed by the president will enable the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) to be able to earn N64 million annually.
The new salaries and allowances are a 300 percent increase from what the judicial officers presently earn.
If the bill is passed into law, the president of the court of appeal will be entitled to N62.4 million, and justices of the Supreme Court will earn N61.4 million.
The heads of all courts like the chief judge of the federal high court, the president of the national industrial court, and the chief judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, among others, would be entitled to the same salary of N7.9 million every year.
The chairman of the senate committee stated that the increment of judges’ salaries and allowances was long overdue. He said that their salary packages have not been reviewed in a long time.
Mongoro said, “Apart from the new salary and allowance scheme, the bill will also make provision for the retirement of judicial officers.”
One of the senators representing Borno state also said that the new salary packages would prompt justice and fairness in the country’s judicial processes.
The Senate then approved the terms of the bill and passed the legislation.
