Wike Blasts NBA Chairman Over Condemnation of Judicial Housing Projects
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has faulted remarks ascribed to the Chairman Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, SAN, on the appropriateness of the residential quarters for judges and justices in Abuja.
Wike disputed the position of the NBA that the projects due to be inaugurated this month by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, amounted to executive interference in the function of the judiciary.
The minister spoke yesterday after inspecting ongoing judicial infrastructure projects, including judges’ residences, the Court of Appeal Abuja Division and proposed residential projects for judges of the Industrial Court and the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Wike blasted NBA for inferring that the provision of facilities for judicial officers by the government amounted to a threat to judicial autonomy.
“I don’t want to reply to what he (Osigwe) said. He has never said anything well. The judiciary is to interpret and adjudicate cases. We have built public houses, both for the National Assembly and for the judiciary. The Supreme Court was built by us here. So, there’s nothing new. The mere fact that the executive constructs does not mean it will interfere with the judiciary. It’s unfortunate,” Wike said.
He lambasted the NBA leadership for lacking consistency, alleging the association is fond of seeking financial support from state governments for its conferences and activities while criticising government interventions in the judiciary.
“It is not for the NBA chairman to comment on what the executive is doing. All he is interested in is when they will go and apply for state government to sponsor NBA activities. Is that not interference? If governments fund their conferences, does that mean they are no longer independent? We are focused, we’ll go ahead,” he quipped.
He insisted the FCT Administration would not be distracted from implementing projects designed to improve the welfare and working conditions of judges and justices, describing the initiative as a voluntary act by the government to make judicial officers comfortable and focused on their work.
He expressed satisfaction with the scope of work at the judges’ quarters, describing the project as 99 per cent ready for inauguration.
Wike, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the aspects of finishing at the Court of Appeal Abuja Division project, saying it fell short of expected quality.
“It’s not the quality I expected. Anybody who knows me, it’s not the quality I expected. And I’ve told the contractor, so many errors that should be corrected. I didn’t expect that the contractor would not have performed better than this. We still have opportunities for them to make amendments before the inauguration. But by and large, Abuja will have a division of the Court of Appeal.”
