The Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has sworn in Etomike Ndigwe and Tagbo Anieto as high court judges of the Anambra State judiciary.
A statement by Soludo’s Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, on Friday, indicated that the governor performed the swearing-in function at the Executive Council Chamber, Government House, Awka.
It added that the swearing-in ceremony follows an effort to lessen the current workload of judges in the state.
It said the governor congratulated the “newest” members of Anambra’s core court of judges and expressed gratitude to God for their calling to public service as outstanding professionals.
Soludo stated that, despite the difficulties, he will resolve the issue of judges’ entitlements in phases starting in March of next month.
The statement read, “The three branches of government; the legislative, executive, and judiciary which are all fairly represented here today, will cooperate to create a livable and prosperous Anambra.
“Security, law, and order are our top priorities and comprise our first agenda among our five pillars. Nothing happens if it is absent!
“Our second agenda, which focuses on infrastructure and economic transformation, cannot be carried out if our first agenda is not successfully carried out.
“Underscoring the importance of the team, everything depends on the rule of law if we want to create jobs, raise money to make things run smoothly, get rid of touts and criminals on the street, make the legal system function, etc.
“Enormous duty rests squarely on your shoulders. The chief judge always reminded me that we are second to Lagos in terms of productivity, so maybe that will change positively.
“Within the limitations imposed by the problems we must overcome, we will make every effort to ensure that the working conditions and surroundings are as comfortable as possible.
“As a government, the executive branch, we will go above and beyond to heed to what you demand, for swift administration of justice. We will make some commitments, but the only constraint is revenue.”
Soludo stated that as Anambra begins the internally-generated revenue revolution, as it has been in Lagos, he asked for an aggressive judiciary to cope with it and work hard to collect money from the populace.
He said, “Unfortunately, Anambra is one of the states in the nation with the lowest revenue payments. The people paid a total of N20bn in one year.”
