Amidst the cry from some quarters for an increase in the National Judicial Council’s budget, reprieve has come as the 2024 budget has been increased by the National Assembly lawmakers from N165bn to N341.63 billion. This is an increase of 107 per cent.
Previously, Daily Trust reported that the lawmakers increased the 2024 National Assembly budget from N197.93bn to ₦344.85bn, which had been approved and subsequently signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It is hoped that this phenomenal increase will considerable improve the welfare of judges and judicial staff. This is considering the questions raised by a number of justices during their valedictory session about how the resources meant the judiciary is being utilised.
During his valedictory service in on 27 Ocober, 2023, Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, JSC (Rtd,) raised some posers.
“In 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari became the president, the budgetary allocation to the judiciary was ₦70 billion. In the 2018 Appropriation Bill submitted to the National Assembly, the President allocated ₦100 billion to the judiciary.
“The legislature increased it to ₦110 billion; ₦10 billion above the ₦100 billion appropriated for the 2017 fiscal year. At the end of President Buhari’s tenure in May 2023, judiciary’s allocation had increased to ₦130 billion. That is an increase from ₦70 to ₦130 billion in 8 years. The present government has allocated an additional sum of 35 billion naira to the judiciary for the current financial year making the amount of money accessible by the judiciary to 165 billion naira. More than 85 percent of the amount appropriated by the 9th Assembly has so far been released to the judiciary. It is envisaged that the additional 35 billion naira will equally be released by the present government.
“Notwithstanding the phenomenal increases in the sums appropriated and released to the judiciary, Justices and officers’ welfare and the quality of service the judiciary render have continued to decline.”
In May 2022 when he was also exiting the court, Hon. Justice Ejembi Eko said: “The Heads of Court in the Federation have enormous budgetary resources from which they can improve the welfare of serving Judges” equally noted that: Nothing stops the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and other investigatory agencies from ‘opening the books of the judiciary’ to expose the corruption in the management of their budgetary resources.”
Daily Trust reports that the NJC’s budget is higher than what eight teaching hospitals will be spending in 2024.
In the budget document seen by our reporter, the eight teaching hospitals will be spending just N190.8bn this year, about N151bn less than N341.63bn budgeted for the NJC.
Daily Trust reports that Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi budgeted N37.6bn to spend this year; University College Hospital, Ibadan: N27.2bn, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu: N25.6bn and University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo: N20.6bn.
Others are Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospitals (AKUTH), Kano: N20.5bn, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ife: N19.9bn, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital( UPTH) Port Harcourt: N19.8bn and University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin: N19.6bn.
The NJC budget is also bigger than budgets of seven Nigerian Universities (N196.4bn).
University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN): N36.6bn, University of Calabar (UNICAL): N29.5bn, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU): N29.2bn, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK): N26.3bn and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA): N26.9bn.
Others are University of Benin (UNIBEN): N24.2bn and University of Ibadan (UI): N23.8bn. Analysts say inadequate funding of health and education institutions in the country contributes to the decline of Nigeria in the poverty index list.
The most part of this report was was culled from Daily Trust and written by Zakariyya Adaramola.
