<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Olusola Adeogun, Abuja<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that ongoing judicial infrastructure projects in Abuja could compromise the independence of the judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wike spoke on Thursday after inspecting several judicial projects in the nation\u2019s capital, Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The projects inspected include the Court of Appeal complex Judges Quarters and heads of courts of Appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The projects which he said are presidential interventions to the third arm of government to ensure its independence is being executed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through the supervision of Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister Wike insisted that the intervention is solely aimed at improving welfare, security and efficiency within the third arm of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that, \u201cThere is nothing you would do that critics will not criticise. Before now, people complained that judges had nowhere to stay to do their work effectively. Now that government is providing accommodation, they say it is an attempt to buy them. How many people can you buy?.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stressed that no democracy can function without a strong and independent judiciary, noting that providing decent accommodation and a secure environment for judges does not in any way undermine their constitutional independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t talk about democracy without talking about the judiciary. You also can\u2019t expect them to perform efficiently when they don\u2019t have befitting places to stay. Even when funds are released to the judiciary, it is still the executive that provides those funds,\u201d Wike stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister explained that the projects followed a clear directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu shortly after his inauguration in May 2023, mandating the Administration to reduce the accommodation burden on judges and improve their welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, one of the key projects a Court of Appeal division with a separate administrative headquarters is already between 85 and 90 per cent completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were there this morning and saw that the work is almost finished. That directive was very clear, and we are glad that it is being faithfully implemented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He disclosed that the FCT Administration is also constructing 40 residential houses for judges, 20 for the FCT High Court, 10 for the Court of Appeal and 10 for the Federal High Court with plans underway to commence similar housing for the National Industrial Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wike further revealed that official residences, referred to as \u201cHouses of Courts,\u201d are being built for heads of courts, including the President of the Court of Appeal, the President of the National Industrial Court, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe believe that by June or July, with the speed of work we are seeing, these projects will be handed over for Mr. President to formally present to the judiciary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wike describee the development as unprecedented in Nigeria\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing concerns over delays in completing the Court of Appeal complex, Wike attributed the setback to last year\u2019s unusually heavy rainfall but assured that the project is now nearing completion and would be commissioned during President Tinubu\u2019s third year in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of work, reiterating the commitment of the Tinubu administration to strengthening the judiciary as a vital pillar of Nigeria\u2019s democratic system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Olusola Adeogun, Abuja The Minister of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims that ongoing judicial infrastructure projects in Abuja could compromise the independence of the judiciary. Wike spoke on Thursday after inspecting several judicial projects in the nation\u2019s capital, Abuja. The projects inspected include the Court of Appeal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":631,"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions\/631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprintng.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}