ADC Calls APC ‘Shameless’ For Celebrating Judges’ Quarters

… Says Gesture Undermines Judicial Independence

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched a scathing attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing it of undermining judicial independence by celebrating the commissioning of residential quarters for judges.

In a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party slammed the APC for portraying the project as a personal achievement of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, the opposition party described the APC’s celebration of the project as a “shameless, unethical and inappropriate spectacle” capable of eroding public confidence in the Judiciary.

The ADC maintained that while judges deserve decent accommodation, adequate security, and improved welfare, such provisions are constitutional responsibilities of government and should not be presented as favours bestowed by political office holders.

“Let it be clearly understood: judges deserve decent accommodation, adequate security, and proper welfare.”

“However, these must not be packaged as personal achievements of government officials or as favours from politicians. They are constitutional obligations of government funded by the Nigerian taxpayer,” the party stated.

According to the ADC, neither President Tinubu nor Wike should be celebrated for executing projects financed with public funds.

“The issue is, therefore, not the construction of the quarters in itself, but the dangerous impression of the Executive arm of government presenting itself as the benefactor of another constitutionally independent arm. Neither President Bola Tinubu nor Minister Nyesom Wike is entitled to personal acclaim for discharging responsibilities financed from public funds,” the statement added.

The party argued that by publicly praising the President and the FCT minister for providing accommodation for judges, the APC had created the impression that the welfare of judicial officers depended on the goodwill of political leaders.

“What the APC has done, by awarding personal acclaim to both the President and his minister for building houses for judges, is to create the impression that the welfare of judges is subject to the whims and caprice of government officials or to executive benevolence,” it said.

The ADC further warned that such actions blur the constitutional boundaries between the Executive and the Judiciary, stressing that judges must never be perceived as beneficiaries of politicians whose actions may eventually come before the courts.

“In every constitutional democracy governed by the principle of separation of powers, the Judiciary must never be placed in a position where its welfare can be publicly portrayed as a favour granted by political actors whose actions and interests may ultimately come before the courts,” the party said.

The opposition party expressed concern over what it described as attempts by the APC to portray Tinubu and Wike as “patrons of the Judiciary,” arguing that such a narrative sends dangerous signals to the public.

“What makes this development particularly troubling is the APC’s attempt to glorify President Tinubu and Minister Wike as patrons of the Judiciary. This action alone creates the unmistakable appearance that judicial welfare is dependent on executive benevolence rather than constitutional entitlement,” the statement read.

The ADC also linked the development to what it called widespread public perceptions of undue executive influence over the courts.

“This is particularly disturbing given the widespread perception that the President and this particular minister, Wike, already wield undue influence over the judiciary.

“The statement by the ruling party celebrating the duo can only give further credence to this belief. After all, he who pays the piper dictates the tune,” it said.

The party dismissed claims that the housing project was evidence of efforts to strengthen judicial independence, describing such arguments as contradictory.

“It is noteworthy that the APC attempted to portray the project as part of government efforts to strengthen judicial independence. This is an Orwellian irony. Judicial independence is not achieved by the number of buildings commissioned by politicians.

“Rather, it is measured by institutional autonomy, financial independence, security of tenure, freedom from political pressure and the confidence of citizens that judges are accountable only to the Constitution and the law,” the statement noted.

The ADC accused the APC of turning a public project into a partisan publicity exercise and warned that such conduct undermines confidence in the neutrality of the courts.

“Characteristically, APC has chosen to convert a public project into a partisan public relations exercise, thereby undermining the very perception of judicial neutrality that every democracy must zealously protect,” it said.

Describing the development as “a shameless assault on the spirit of separation of powers,” the party insisted that public institutions should never become instruments of political patronage.

“The Judiciary belongs to the Nigerian people — not to the APC, not to President Tinubu, and certainly not to any minister of government. The independence of the courts is too important to be sacrificed on the altar of political vanity and partisan self-congratulation,” the ADC declared.

The party also urged the judiciary to be mindful of the ethical implications of its relationship with the executive, noting that the institution already suffers from a credibility challenge in the eyes of many Nigerians.

“Already, the Nigerian Judiciary suffers a massive trust deficit. The public can only begin to trust in the courts again when judges stop putting themselves in a position that makes the people believe that they are beholden to a few individuals and not the law itself,” the statement added.