By Paul Effiong, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has transmitted major reform Bills for the judiciary and health sectors to the House of Representatives, urging for speedy passage.
In the correspondence to lawmakers, President Tinubu also requested the House to urgently consider and pass the Federal High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which proposes increase in the statutory number of judges of the Federal High Court from 70 to 90.
While reading the letter at plenary yesterday, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas expressed optimism that the president’s request would be accorded the urgent attention it deserves by the lawmakers.
In the president’s correspondence, he observed that the courts are currently handling a growing number of complex cases, including terrorism, transnational organised crimes, as well as other matters relating to national security.
He informed the lawmakers that the proposed increase would contribute positively by improving judge-to-case ratio for the purpose of enhancing prompt, speedy and quality of adjudication and access to justice in strengthening public confidence in the judiciary system across Nigeria.
Tinubu, therefore, urged the House to give the bills expeditious consideration in order to strengthen institutional capacity, efficiency and effectiveness of the judicial system.
In another letter, the president explained that the proposed amendment seeks to clarify judicial structure and seniority, including the establishment of an Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre to handle cases that could be settled outside the conventional courtroom.
Another letter from the president focused on the transmission of 24 health sector bills carefully designed to reform the existing health laws and streamline what was described as the over-bloated membership of governing councils within the health sector.
