ABIODUN ASSENTS 25 BILLS IN SIX MONTHS – OGUN ATTORNEY-GENERAL

ABEOKUTA – The Ogun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Akingbolahan Adeniran has said that Governor Dapo Abiodun assented no fewer than 25 bills passed by the State House of Assembly between January and June of this year.

Adeniran disclosed this recently while presenting a mid-year appraisal of the 2021 budget performance of the Ministry before the State House Committee on Justice, Ethics and Public Petitions, at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the State capital.

He added that five Executive Order establishing State Safety Commission, Waste Management Authority, State Skills Funds, Lagos/Ogun Joint Development Commission and Framework for Responsible and Inclusive Land Intensive Agricultural Investment (FRILLIA), were also issued within the period under review.

The Attorney-General said that the Public Prosecution Department of the Ministry set out strategies which resulted in turnaround time for issuance of legal advice from more than two years before to four weeks for legal advice and six weeks for filling of information papers towards aiding speedy justice dispensation.

Chairman House Committee on Justice, Ethics and Public Petitions, Hon. Solomon Osho directed Adeniran to avail the Assembly within a week, the details of all bills signed into law in the period under consideration, so as to able the lawmakers have an up-to-date knowledge on the status of the bills transmitted to the executive arms of government.

In a related development, the Chief Registrar, State Judiciary, Mrs. Olufunke Odubanjo, while presenting the mid-year budget performance of the Judiciary, hinted that State remained the first in the Southwest geo-graphical zone to achieve the effective running of four Multi-door Court Houses situated in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu and another newly commissioned in Ota.

The CR stated that despite the JUSUN industrial action which slowed down the budget performance of the Judiciary, noted that there was renovation of High Courts 2 and 3 at Sagamu, commissioning of High Court, Idi-Oke in Igbesa and renovation of High Court Library, Ilaro.

She added that a total of N40.53m revenue was generated into government coffers in the period under review.

Meanwhile, Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal has called for release of funds by the State Government to enable it rehabilitate its court buildings across the Three Senatorial Districts of the State.

The Chief Registrar of the Court, Mrs. Titilayo Bello made this call during a mid-year appraisal of the 2021 budget performance before the State House of Assembly Committee on Justice, Ethics and Public Petitions-led by Hon. Solomon Osho.

She revealed that no fund was released for capital projects out of the approved N100Million for the financial year as at June this year, stressing for the need to release funds for needed projects and re-roofing most of the Customary Courts across the State.

She also called for an increase in the courts’ overhead expenditure of N183.6Million to enable the courts’ achieve its set objectives of dispensation of justice without any delay and in line with the provision of the law.

She emphasized that all the Customary courts in the State were given facelift, despite the paucity of fund, noting that the court has to put in places for the comfortability of the plaintiffs, defendants, co-defendants, staff and the entire judges.

“Indeed, we have achieved below average, from what had been available to Ogun State Customary Court of Appeal in terms facelifts, despite the paucity of fund, the Customary Court of Appeal in the last six months had been able to bring justice closer to the people and all our Customary Courts across the State were given a facelifts”, Bello said

The lawmakers also examined the mid-year budget performance reports of the Judicial Service Commission.