Bola Tinubu has issued directives to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to allocate land to judges and other federal government officials. This move is part of a broader initiative to enhance the accessibility of land for key government branches.
Minister Wike revealed Tinubu’s instructions during a meeting with the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, on Thursday. He expressed his commitment to providing the necessary infrastructure before land allocation in the FCT.
Wike stated, “Before now, the President had given me the go ahead to allocate lands to the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. What remains now is how it should be done because the number is too much. What we have decided to do is to do this in phases. All cannot be done at the same time.
“Some allocations were done in the past but unfortunately, some of the places are inaccessible. I think it is baseless to allocate land where people have no access, that is, infrastructure. It does not make any sense. So, we will allocate lands to you in places that are accessible.”
In response, Justice Tsoho, the Chief Judge, emphasized the importance of the judiciary in upholding democracy and requested that the judiciary be considered in the allocation of lands. Wike expressed his belief in the equal and independent functioning of all three branches of government.
Wike said, “Like you rightly said, I believe that the three arms of government must work together even though independently and I believe that no arm of government should be treated lesser than the other.
Without the judiciary, our democracy cannot survive. Nigerians are talking about the judiciary today because of the role you play, and so whatever is required to strengthen the judiciary is not over-demanding.”
Justice Tsoho commended Wike for his support of the judicial branch and highlighted the significant role he played in prioritizing the welfare of judicial officers during his tenure as Rivers State governor.
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“It is with that confidence that we bring the anguish of the FHC to you. The peculiarities of our job due to transfers takes us to several places. Consequently, we are denied various forms of policies for enhancing welfare of judges since we are not part of the judiciary of those states and failure to cater for our interests at the Federal level makes us stateless.
“I kindly urge your excellency to use your good offices in allocating landed property to FHC judges. We appreciate our large number and recommend that this be done in batches, scattered across the FCT,” he requested.
He also informed the minister about the upcoming December celebration of the Federal High Court’s golden jubilee.
The decision to allocate land in phases and ensure infrastructure accessibility underscores the commitment to the welfare and effectiveness of the three branches of government in the Federal Capital Territory.