The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, has stated that the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning was looking into improving budgetary allocation to the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria in 2025, to help tackle its funding challenges.
He disclosed this at the just concluded management retreat of the council in Lagos, which was sponsored by the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by International IDEA.
He noted that the Ministry of Justice was working hard to improve the funding of the Legal Aid Council as part of efforts to strengthen justice administration in the country.
The minister stated that since he assumed office, he had been determined to champion the cause of Legal Aid and make efforts to rejuvenate and assist it in achieving its mandates.
“I am saying that the budget allocation of the Legal Aid Council should be as much as it is in developed countries, but should make it reasonable in the country,” Fagbemi asserted.
According to the minister, there is a need to build the capacity of the council because everything is changing and it cannot give what it does not have.
He vowed to continue to assist the Legal Aid Council, urging lawyers in the council to volunteer to assist the council by offering pro bono services, especially in rural areas.
Fagbemi said the council was established to render legal services to the less privileged, especially those whose income is less than the minimum wage.
He added, “The conditions of service are being looked into, as are some other critical areas that the government is looking into, such as assisting the legal aid council, as we have heard from the director general. So I am happy to be here and I hope that they will continue to reciprocate this gesture to the government.”
Also, the Director-General of the council, Aliyu Abubakar, disclosed that the agency was planning to recruit 500 new staff members.
He also revealed that the council had received a response from the Presidency for the recruitment, noting that it was only ironing out the grey areas pointed out.
Abubakar added that the minister had given the council the go-ahead to work toward improving its budgetary allocation.
He appealed to the AGF to continue to support the council to be able to provide legal services for the less privileged in the country.
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