By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Chairman of Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to immediately commence the implementation of the enhanced salary and welfare scheme for judiciary officers nationwide.
The President said this and many other initiatives are aimed at significantly strengthening the capacity and independence of the judiciary, which he said remains a pillar of strength and stability for the nation’s democracy.
The President gave this directive on Friday at the official commissioning and handing over ceremony of Nabo Graham-Douglass Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Port Harcourt to the Council of Legal Education.
Represented by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the President noted, “This administration will, therefore, continue to support efforts to transform the judiciary, as part of a critical strategy, in ensuring a fair, progressive and prosperous society, with the rule of law as its cornerstone.”
A statement issued on Friday, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice added that President Muhammadu Buhari also called on the judiciary to continue to uphold the ethics of their profession and operate with accountability and probity in the exercise of their judicial and administrative duties.
He also charged the Council of Legal Education to sustain the trust by optimally maintaining and running the project in furtherance of the quest to improve and sustain high standards in legal education.
“The legal profession thrives on sound learning, ethical values, and good character; therefore, it is our abiding duty to sustain high standards for those on whose shoulders rest the future of both the bar and the bench,” he said.
He also applauded the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and congratulated the people of the State, the Council of Legal Education, Nigerian Law and the entire justice sector family for the initiative, which he said culminated in the building and handing over of the new campus to the Council of Legal Education, Nigerian Law School.
He commended the christening of the commissioned campus after Nabo Graham-Douglas, SAN; former Attorney-General of Eastern Nigeria, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Rivers State and Attorney-General of the Federation.
