Omo-Agege promises to address acute shortage of judges in Delta; says judiciary urgent need of reforms

By Akpos Oghenetega,

Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, Obarisi Ovie Omo-Agege has said the state judiciary is in dire need of urgent reforms for quick adjudication of cases and comfort of judicial personnel.

Omo-Agege said, upon assumption of office as governor, he will quickly set motions in place to address the myriad of challenges bedevilling the state judiciary.

He spoke on Friday at Effurun during a town hall meeting with members of the Nigerian Bar Association from the nine NBA branches in the state.

Omo-Agege, who is also a lawyer, pointed out that the current state of the judiciary in the state was embarrassing and deserves urgent reformation.

Piqued by the ‘parlous state of courtrooms in Delta’ and the unacceptable working conditions of judges,  the APC governorship candidate said more courts will be built and enough judges will be appointed to fill the existing vacancies.

He added that it is inexcusable for judges in an oil-rich state such as Delta for judges to be shuttling between courts to handle cases.

The Delta Central lawmaker promised to make the state judiciary envy of other states through reforms and Infrastructural upgrades just like what Governor Nysom Wike had done in Rivers State.

Omo-Agege added that his administration will be determined and committed to revamping the infrastructural decay across the three senatorial districts and ensure that the state return to the path of rapid socioeconomic development.

He promised to work with the NBA and other professional bodies to ensure that his administration delivers on her campaign promises when elected as the governor in the forthcoming polls.

According to him, “the Delta State Judiciary is our pride and as lawyers, we ply our trade first in the Court system in Delta State from where we progress to the appellate Courts. As a people, we must continue to promote and uphold the Rule of Law and ensure good governance.

“In spite of the internally generated revenue and allocations, the State has received from the Federation Account, all of you are living witnesses to the level of infrastructural decay and under-development the Delta State Judiciary has suffered in the last sixteen (16) years of the PDP administration. Compared to our neighbours, especially Rivers State, the Delta State Judiciary is a shadow of itself. Judging by the amount of income and revenue generated by Delta State, the Judiciary and lawyers should fare better than we experienced under this administration. There is no gainsaying that the impact of growth in the Judiciary invariably affects the output of legal practitioners who work and ply their trade in the Justice delivery system.

“My team and I have come prepared to address the issues of concern in the Justice delivery system under our EDGE AGENDA.  In our EDGE to BAND Manifesto, we identified some key indices upon which we purpose to foster Good governance as a government.

“We pledge to uphold and abide by all Judicial pronouncements and ensure justice, fairness and equality, necessary for deepening democratic practices and behaviour, for all our citizens.

“There are deep-rooted corruption challenges in Delta State. This has led to financial losses, directly disadvantaging public service delivery, increasing levels of poverty, instigating social dissent, frustration, injustice, and abuse of human rights, as well as undermining democratic principles and good governance.

“We will put in place administrative systems and control measures to enhance public finance management, quality of service delivery, and generally, strengthen public accountability and transparency.

“We will require full disclosure in all media outlets of all government contracts above threshold(s) set in conjunction with the legislature before award and during implementation at regular intervals.

“Faced with challenges of interference, corruption, conflicting judgements and backlogs in the adjudication of cases, the Delta State Judiciary is in urgent need of reforms to keep it in shape to efficiently perform its duty of justice administration.

“We will support the reform and strengthening of the justice system for efficient administration and dispensation of justice, and ensure that in the administration of justice, there shall not be any form of discrimination between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless. We shall defend the honour of the law, and the objective and impartiality of the judiciary in the State.

“For a speedy, fair and inexpensive justice system, we will support extensive judicial reforms addressing critical areas such as judges’ remuneration, recruitment, training, discipline and court administration.

“I have gone round the State and found that a lot needs to be done to bring all our Courts: the District Court, the Area Customary Court, the Magistrate Court, the Revenue Court, the High Court and the Customary Court of Appeal to standard.