- There is no excuse for not paying January entitlements
The news that Justices of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and all federal and state high court judges have not been paid their January salary, even as their February salary falls due today, is alarming. Also affected by the delay in the payment of salaries are judicial workers in the federal employ. We are worried over the judges’ salary particularly because of the peculiarity of their job which forbids them from engaging in private businesses, and the possibility that desperation could expose them to corrupting influences from the litigating public.
So, whatever may have caused the delay in the payment of the salary of the over 600 judges across the country should be quickly sorted out by the executive. Perhaps that is why the 1999 Constitution considers the amount due to the judiciary from the consolidated revenue of the federation, a prerogative. Of note, section 81(3) of the constitution, provides: “Any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary, in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation, shall be paid directly to the National Judicial Council, for disbursement to the heads of the court established for the federation and the states, under section 6 of this constitution”.
For us, no excuse is good enough to justify the delay. As the executive knows, it has powers under the constitution to expend the needed resources to pay the judges, even as the nation eagerly awaits the 2016 Budget. We are referring here to section 82 of the constitution, which provides: “If the Appropriation Bill in respect of any financial year has not been passed into law by the beginning of the financial year, the President may authorise the withdrawal of moneys from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation, for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the government of the federation, for a period not exceeding six months or until the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act, whichever is earlier”.
In our view, the salary of judges is one such ‘expenditure necessary to carry out the services of the government of the federation’, to warrant a pre-budgetary expenses, within the contemplation of the constitution. The Federal Government must appreciate that among the three arms of government, the judiciary is the most vulnerable, even when its contribution to the stability of the polity is not necessarily the least. The position of the judiciary is even made more precarious by the tradition of the bench, as judges cannot resort to self-help, or raise self-serving alarm, to attract attention like the officials of the other two arms of government, when confronted by institutional challenges.
The centrality of an independent and confident judiciary to the success of the war against corruption is one more reason why the judges should be paid without further delay. A judge who is owed salary and who has bills to pay is a vulnerable judge, and could be susceptible to corrupting influences. Such a judge, may also lack the confidence and concentration required to perform optimally, especially in dealing with the demands of trial in criminal cases, which under the laws are now more of a marathon.
To avoid any excuses from the judiciary in the pursuit of a better country, the legislature should give the necessary support and nudge the executive to action, if need be, to ensure that our judges are fairly treated. The executive and the legislature cannot be helping themselves to the proverbial national cake, and pontificate for an independent and fearless judiciary, even when their (judicial officers’) basic entitlement is withheld.
