Nigerian judges will receive three new allowances if a new amendment to their remuneration is eventually implemented.
One of those will be for “restricted or forced lifestyle”.
The benefits are a part of adjustments made to the wages of elected political office holders, judicial and other public office holders announced by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on Tuesday.
They have an implementation date of January 1, 2023, but require amendment of relevant legislations to be implemented.
– Only judges get allowances
The commission increased the remuneration of the president, vice president, ministers, governors and judges by 114%. It said the adjustments were necessary as they had not been reviewed for 16 years.
Muhammadu Shehu, chairman of the RMAFC, called on the 36 state houses of assembly to quickly amend relevant laws to allow the implementation of the new packages.
In its report, the commission recommended that allowances and fringe benefits be maintained at current levels. It, however, recommended the introduction of three new allowances only for judicial office holders.
The first is Professional Development Assistant Allowance, which RMAFC said will allow for the provision of two law clerks to all judges in the country.
The second is Long Service Allowance, which it said will guarantee seniority and hierarchy between officers who have been on the bench for a minimum of five years and those that are appointed newly.
The last is Restricted or Forced Lifestyle Allowance, which the commission said will take care of the nature of the lifestyle of judicial officers while in active service.
The agency has not released the full details of the allowances and reasons it recommends them only to judges.
– None yet for citizens
The announcement comes at a time Nigerian workers are calling for increased pay as citizens face rising living costs. Consumer prices rose 22.4% in the last one year to May and is expected to rise further following the removal of petrol subsidy and the devaluation of naira.
The government has said it will discuss calls for wage increase but has not given a clear commitment yet.
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