Cross River NASS Caucus Charges Buhari on Acting CJN
With few days to the expiration of the constitutionally specified three-months acting capacity, the Cross River State National Assembly caucus has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency forward the name of Justice Samuel Walter Onnoghen to the Senate for screening and confirmation as Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN)
Disturbed by apparent delay in sending Justice Onnoghen to the Senate, the Caucus described the development as unhealthy and an unnecessary distraction that is needlessly heating up the polity.
Speaking for the eleven-member caucus, Senator John Enoh, representing Cross River Central on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said confirming Onnoghen as Nigeria’s Chief Justice has become imperative given that succession to the position is always based on merit and seniority
According to the Caucus, the established order and convention has imbued the judiciary with a measure of stability and positioned it to play the critical role of dispensing justice immune to it undue influence of powerful vested interests, adding that anything to the contrary would not mean well for the principle of equity and justice in the country.
Decrying the President’s foot-dragging in forwarding the name to the Senate for screening and subsequent confirmation without lawful and constitutional reasons, the Cross River Lawmakers expressed worries that the development may inadvertently threaten the independence of Nigeria’s judiciary and security of tenure of judges.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) had on October 13, 2016 recommended Justice Onnoghen to the President as suitable for appointment as the new CJN. But in a twist of event that jolted many, especially stakeholders in the nation’s judiciary, President Buhari, against all permutations, elected to appoint Onnoghen in acting capacity on November 10, 2016 without transmitting his name to the Senate for confirmation.
