The amount to fund the benefits of former Chief Justices of Nigeria in the 2016 Appropriation Bill is by N500m less than what was allocated for the same purpose in the 2015 approved budget.

A budget document obtained by our correspondent on Sunday showed that while N1.5bn was allocated to fund the benefits of the ex-CJNs in the 2015 Appropriation Act, only N1bn was allocated for the same purposes in 2016.

It could not ascertained whether the reduction in the benefits of the ex-CJNs in the 2016 proposed budget followed the N3bn shortfall in the judiciary’s proposed budget for new year.

The N73bn, which the judiciary got as its allocation under the 2015 Appropriation Act was slashed to N70bn in the 2016 budget.

There are five living former CJNs.

They are Justices Muhammadu Uwais (1995-2006); Alfa Belgore (2006-2007); Legbo Kutigi (2007-2009); Aloysius Katsina-Alu (2009-2011), Dahiru Musdapher (2011-2012) and Aloma Mukhtar (2012-2014).

The document showed that the amount budgeted as their benefits usually come under seven heads – purchase of land, construction of houses, residential furniture, residential equipment, access road, maintenance of constructed houses and replacement of vehicles after four years.

It showed that under the benefits of former CJNs, N100m each was appropriated for purchase of land, residential furniture, residential equipment and access road in the 2015 budget, but nothing was proposed for any of these items in the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

In 2015, N1.1bn was allocated for construction of houses, an amount that was reduced to 668,348,313.23 in 2016.

Though there was no allocation for maintenance of constructed houses and vehicle replacement last year, they received N121,651,686.77 and N210m respectively this year.

The document also showed that while N1.119bn was initially proposed for the former CJNs’ benefits for 2016, the National Judicial Council, which coordinates and presents a unified budget for the judiciary, had slashed it to N1bn in 2016.

A judiciary source said most of the proposals submitted by the various courts and institutions in the federal and state judiciaries were re-adjusted to conform to the N70bn ceiling given by the Federal Ministry of Justice.

The source added, “The CJN’s benefits were not the only items slashed in the judiciary’s budget. You also have to understand that there was expenditure under the former CJNs’ benefit in the last year budget that did not come up.

“At the same time, one cannot rule out the impact of the N3bn shortfall on the amount earmarked for the former CJN’s benefit in the 2016 proposed budget. Don’t forget that the amounts allocated for the judiciary have been spiraling down in the last few years.”

Credit: Punch