With the latest minimize in price range by the governor of Ondo State, Fortunate Ayedatiwa, the state’s judiciary seems to be dealing with numerous strain.
Some critics within the state stated the sharp price range cuts and unresolved welfare issues pose an enormous threat to judicial independence below the administration of Governor Aiyedatiwa.
The Ondo state authorities had decreased the judiciary’s allocation from N17 billion within the 2025 price range to N9.5 billion within the 2026 price range, a minimize of greater than 40 per cent.
Whereas the state authorities has introduced 80 per cent {financial} autonomy for the judiciary, the approval applies solely to recurrent expenditure, excluding capital initiatives reminiscent of courtroom infrastructure and gear.
Senior courtroom officers who spoke on the latest minimize in price range warn that the association might lead to a 20 per cent discount in employees salaries in 2026.
In addition they feared that this motion might go away the courts and all the judicial system with out funds for important repairs.
A number of courtroom buildings throughout Ondo State are reported to be in ruins, with leaking roofs and flooding throughout rainfall, regularly forcing the suspension of courtroom sittings, the officers who most popular to not be named stated.
Additionally, a senior Justice of the Peace, who spoke on situation of anonymity, described the scenario as “a sluggish erosion of the justice system,” including that “you can not speak about judicial independence when courts can not perform bodily.”
Welfare issues within the judiciary, the sources say has additionally change into a problem of issues
As an illustration, the Magistrates and Grade A Customary Court docket Presidents are stated to depend on business bikes for official motion, regardless of the governor’s reported approval of ₦400m for autos since 2024.
Sources inside the judiciary allege that the Ministry of Finance has not launched the funds.
Excessive Court docket judges are additionally reportedly utilizing official autos which might be over six years previous and more and more unreliable. A number of appeals for alternative autos since 2024 have allegedly gone unanswered.
Authorized analysts be aware that the judiciary has performed a vital function in resolving political disputes within the state, together with election-related instances.
A constitutional lawyer who is predicated in Akure, Ondo State’s capital metropolis has additionally warned that “ravenous the judiciary of funds, whether or not deliberate or not, weakens democracy itself.”
As requires pressing intervention develop, observers say the dealing with of the judiciary’s funding will take a look at the federal government’s dedication to the rule of regulation in Ondo State.