Gov Adeleke Denies Removing Osun Chief Judge

By Ayodele Oni

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has  denied reports that he removed the Chief Judge and appointed an Acting Chief Judge for the state.

The Governor explained that what he did was that he only forwarded the resolution of the House of Assembly and recommendation for an Acting appointment to the Chief Justice of the Federation for decision and action.

This was contained in a statement on Sunday, signed on behalf of the Governor by the Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi.

The statement reads : “With all sense of responsibility, it is important to  set the records straight that Governor Adeleke has only duly notified the Chief Justice as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) in writing about the  resolutions of the House of Assembly following  series of petitions made against the sitting Chief Judge of Osun State.

“In the communication, Mr Governor intimated the CJN of the recommendation of the House that the Chief Judge should step aside and included his own submission for an acting appointment to fill the vacuum, while the NJC reviews and decides on the petition.

“To that end, the Governor in the same letter recommended to the CJN, the appointment of the most senior judicial officer, Hon.Justice Olayinka David Afolabi for thorough consideration and further processing by the same NJC through the CJN.

“We urge the public to note that while the  House of Assembly recommended the appointment of a replacement to the Governor in its resolution, the Governor however toed the line of law by writing  the CJN on the entire development and submitting all materials for NJC as mandated national agency.

“We therefore wish to state categorically  that  Governor Adeleke has not appointed any judicial official as Acting Chief Judge and nobody has been sworn  as Acting Chief Judge of Osun state.

“Governor Adeleke is a man of due process and rule of law with a deep level of respect for the bar and the bench, the NJC and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We assure the public that Mr Governor is fully aware of the limit of his powers, as well as the responsibilities of the various agencies of government and will therefore not act in any way to violate the constitution and rule of law.”

The removal of the Chief Judge and the appointment of another in an Acting capacity has met with strong criticisms and rejection. For starters, the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, has given notice that it would not recognize the Acting Chief Judge.