As the present government prepares to hand over to a new administration, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, has expressed satisfaction over the achievement recorded by his ministry and fellow Attorneys-General.
Malami recounted the successes attained by the body as well as ongoing plans on Tuesday at the Body of Attorneys-General Conference which was held in Abuja.
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The body of Attorneys-General was formed as a platform for the AG of the Federation and AGs of the 36 States to meet and deliberate on pertinent legal issues affecting the nation and explore areas of mutual concern.
Stating that the conference was an emotional one for him, he appreciated the contributions of each member adding that, “For the majority of us, it is also an opportunity to bid farewell to one another on this platform.”
He said, “For well over seven years now, I have been privileged to relate with and work together with an amazing crop of dedicated public servants and some of the best legal minds present here in this room.”
He noted that the body of Attorneys in the current administration “has strived within humanly possible limits to discharge meritoriously the onus and duties of the position of leadership bestowed on them.”
Highlighting some of the feats of his administration, Malami said, “Over the years, we have recorded modest gains in terms of reforms in the justice sector, law reforms through legislations, judicial decisions which expounded our jurisprudence.”
Furthermore, he also disclosed that plans were underway to address the issue of pension for judicial officers, sharing of Stamp Duties collections, Value Added Tax among others.
He said, “You would recall that at the last meeting, we had in January 2023, several issues were raised which the Body set up a Sub-Committee to look into and provide recommendations.”
“I am aware that the Committee has met, and I also had the privilege of engaging with the Sub-Committee while the report of the meeting will be presented subsequently.”
“Some of these salient issues include the payment of pension for judicial officers, sharing of Stamp Duties collections, Value Added Tax, NFIU Guidelines, regulation of the mining and gaming industry and other issues relating to policing and security.”
“There are other areas of mutual evaluation and collaboration which includes combating and prosecution of terrorism and other violent crimes.”
Advising the attorneys, the Ministry of Justice boss said they should keep the goal of national development close to their heart.
“We should not shy away from offering our knowledge and wealth of experience in office to promote development in all spheres of our national life.”
He also advised both the Federal and State Governments to continue to dialogue on perceived issues of dispute as “an avenue for cross-fertilization of ideas.”
Punch
