The Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) on Wednesday said that poor budgetary allocation to the Judiciary has been stalling the appointment of new justices for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
The Secretary to the commission, Bassey E. Bassey, announced this during a visit of the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Judiciary for an oversight.
According to Bassey, the Supreme Court is currently operating with only 12 Justices, with many vacancies to be filled.
He further revealed that the country’s Judiciary was struggling because the appointment of new Justices for the Appeal and Supreme Courts had to wait due to lack of funds to take care of them.
He said: “This year, our budget is the least; very small. Despite operational activities, our budget is extremely small. The Judiciary is struggling because the appointment of new Justices to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court has to wait.
“Before you appoint them, you have to make adequate preparations for their welfare. As they are going, vacancies are created and they have to be filled. That is why the bulk of the budgets will always be given to the courts.”