President Bola Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to amend the Court of Appeal Act to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre at the appellate court for the adjudication of appellate matters.

The President is also seeking amendments to the Court of Appeal Act and the Federal High Court Act to increase the number of Justices and judges from 70 to 110 for the Court of Appeal, and from 70 to 90 for the Federal High Court.

In addition, Tinubu has proposed comprehensive amendments to the laws establishing 24 federal health institutions and regulatory agencies to strengthen their operational capacity.

The Speaker of the House announced that the President transmitted three separate bills requesting legislative amendments affecting the judiciary and the health sector.

One bill seeks to amend the Court of Appeal Act 2004 to expand the number of Justices to 110, while another proposes changes to the Federal High Court Act 2024 to raise the number of judges to 90. The third communication contains 24 bills aimed at revising legal frameworks governing federal health institutions nationwide.

The proposed Court of Appeal (Amendment) Bill, 2026, is designed to enhance the institutional capacity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the appellate court in line with constitutional provisions and current justice sector demands.

Beyond increasing the number of Justices, the bill also seeks to restructure provisions on the composition, precedence, and ranking of Court of Appeal Justices, including the status of the President of the Court and the determination of seniority. It further provides for the conduct of court proceedings through electronic and audio-visual platforms.

In addition, it seeks to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre within the Court of Appeal, to which appellate matters may be referred for settlement, while empowering the President of the Court of Appeal to issue regulations and practice directions for its effective operation and also seek to introduce several procedures and administrative amendments to improve operational efficiency and legal certainty in appellate practice.

The President explained that the bill also seeks to update terminology and definitions within the Principal Act, including the recognition of virtual hearings and modern correctional nomenclature, and consolidates interpretative provisions to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with the current legal and institutional framework.

According to him, these amendments are timely and necessary; they respond to the growing demands on the appellate justice system, seek to reduce delays in the administration of justice, strengthen access to justice for litigants across the Federation, and reinforce public confidence in the judiciary.

For the Federal High Court, the president, while the original act provides for 50 judges for the court, the number was increased to seventy (70) by the Amendment in 2005, and remains the current strength of the Court.

President Tinubu said, “It is noteworthy that the Court now bears a substantial and expanding responsibility for the prosecution of terrorism related offences, transnational organized crimes, and other matters touching directly on national security.

“The House is invited to note that the proposed increase of the Federal High Court Justices from 70 to 90 will significantly improve the Judge-to-ration, enhance the speed and quality of adjudication, and allow for greater judicial specialization in technically demanding areas such as terrorism, financial crimes, taxation, intellectual property, maritime law, and election-related litigation.

The President is also seeking the approval of the House to amend 24 Health Sector Acts.

He said, “The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in coordination with the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, following the directive of the Federal Executive Council, engaged in a review of the enabling laws of the Health Sector Institutions for the purpose of streamlining the over-bloated membership structure of their Governing Boards to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery and have concluded the following twenty-four Health Sector Bills”

The bills are University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Boards, etc.) (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the National Hospital for Women and Children, Abuja (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Federal Medical Centres (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the National Specialty Hospitals Management Board (Establishment) Bill, 2025, the Orthopedic Hospitals Management Board (Amendment) Bill, 2025; The National Eye Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the National Hospital for Women and Obstetric Fistula (Establishment) Bill, 2025 and the National Ear Care Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

The bills also include the Medical and Dental Practitioners Bill, 2025; the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (Registration, etc.) (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Institution of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Radiographers (Registration, Etc.) (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2025; and the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

The rest are the Community Health Practitioners (Registration, Etc.) (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Medical Rehabilitation Therapist (Registration, Etc.) (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Dental Technologists (Registration, Etc.), (Amendment) Bill, 2025; (xix) The Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians (Registration, Etc.) (Amendment) Bill, the Dental Therapist (Registration, Etc.) (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the National Blood Service Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2025; the Records Officers Registration and Digital Health Bill, 2025; and the Federal College of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Bill, 2025.

The president appealed to the lawmakers to expedite the consideration and passage of the bill.

Source; The Nation News