The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has submitted a memorandum to the Revenue Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) on the review of judicial salaries and allowances.
In a copy obtained from the memorandum jointly signed by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), and Olawale Fapohunda (SAN), the Alternate Chairman of the NBA Working Committee on Judicial Remuneration and Conditions of Service.
In the memo, the NBA makes a compelling case for an urgent radical review of Judicial Remuneration and proposes an ambitious 200% increase in the basic salaries of all Judicial Officers.
The NBA also proposed a total overhaul of the components of what presently constitutes judicial allowances.
Perhaps, the most radical proposal yet is the recommendation on removing judicial office holders from the purview of RMFAC, and the establishment of a separate panel to oversee matters concerning Judicial Salaries and Allowances.
While submitting the report, the President of the NBA, Yakubu Maikyau welcomed the consultative process adopted by RMFAC led by its Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Bello Shehu, while looking forward to further engagements with the Commission and other stakeholders on the subject matter.
The NBA President also advised that discussions on judicial remuneration should be time bound as there is a state of emergency as it relates to the conditions of service of judicial officers across the country, a state of affairs which he emphasized is not good for the administration of justice, the promotion of the rule of law and the sustainability of democracy in the country.
