Osun Judiciary Imbroglio: Gov Adeleke Makes Volte-face On Acting CJ Appointment… NBA,APC Knock Him…He Has Demonstrated Good Leadership-PDP

The ‘dramatic scenes’ enacted in Osun state since last week Thursday with respect to who should head the judicial branch of government in the state made the State of the Living Spring to be in the news, the state has actually gotten a great deal of public attention.

It had begun with Governor Ademola Adeleke disclosing that he has approved the resolution of the state House of Assembly asking the Chief Judge ,  Justice Adepele Ojo, to ‘step aside’ whilst carrying out investigation of allegations leveled against her in separate petitions submitted to the parliament which include misconduct, abuse of power, corruption and disregard for rule of law .

 The governor had consequently announced the appointment of Justice Olayinka David Afolabi as acting Chief Judge while adding that arrangements were being made to ensure that oath-taking ceremony is held for him the following day..

The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice , Barrister Wole Jimi-Bada  had also submitted on Thursday night that the steps taken by Governor Ademola Adeleke earlier in the day in respect of who should head the state judiciary was not in any way improper or inappropriate.

He also noted that the governor  did not act unjustifiably  adding that he had only done the needful sequel to the resolution of the state House of Assembly while submitting that Justice Adepele Ojo may be reinstated as Chief Judge if her innocence is eventually established.  .  

 The governor however made a volte-face on Sunday with the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment,  Barrister Kolapo Alimi issuing a statement to clarify and assert that at no time was anyone appointed as acting Chief Judge.

‘With all sense of responsibility ,it is important to set the record 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 a series of petitions against the sitting Chief Judge of Osun state.

In the communication, Mr Governor informed 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 this 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 by the 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.

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’ he said.

Osun state APC has submitted that the developments recorded in the state since Thursday last week  which made the State of the Living Spring come under the spotlight has further exposed ‘Governor Adeleke, his co-travelers and the state  lawmakers’ as a bundle of entities abundantly lacking when it comes to what it takes to increase the fortunes and prosperity of the state.

The state APC chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal in a statement made available to  Team@orientactualmags.com on Sunday  said if Governor Adeleke is uninformed about the constitution, he had expected the lawmakers to point him in the right direction.

‘When the blind leads the blind, the fall of all of them will be catastrophic which is what is being witnessed in Osun state today.

The haphazard handling of the CJ’s suspension by the Osun State lawmakers further confirms the allegation by the public that nothing beneficial to the citizenry can evolve from the assembly that sixteen of its members are alleged to be Yahoo chieftains? 

One is safe to conclude that the House of Assembly under Wale Egbedun’s  leadership  has an image problem to contend with before the members of the public can take them seriously that they are not the suckers and lapdogs of Governor Adeleke.

The state assembly must, urgently, cure itself of the puppeteerist brand it has earned for itself since inauguration’ Lawal submitted.

The state PDP  has however asserted that  rather than being vilified  Governor Ademola Adeleke should be commended   for demonstrating  competence and patriotism in his handling of state matters by clarifying issues and setting  the record straight with respect to the state judiciary imbroglio.

The state PDP  Chairman, Hon Sunday Bisi  in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com said President Bola Tinubu has had cause to adjust or reverse policy pronouncements depending on prevailing situations.

‘The public is aware of more than seven instances where the current Federal Government directly reversed itself in compliance with new facts and proofs. The Federal Government always justified such a change of policy on new facts, superior information and in the case of issues around the Chief Judge, Governor Adeleke had done the right thing by communicating the development to the National Judicial Council for action. The NJC had received the governor’s letter since last Thursday, putting paid to all ambiguities and misinformation.

The sign of a good leader is the capacity to set record straight in cases of misinformation. This is what Mr Governor has done’ he said.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had on Saturday condemned the decision taken by   the governor to ask Justice Adepele Ojo to step aside as Chief Judge.

The NBA  in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Akorede Lawal,   had submitted that it would not recognize Justice Olayinka Afolabi as Acting Chief Judge  citing doctrine of separation of powers and independence of the judiciary.

‘The tenure of a judicial officer cannot and should not be subject to the mood of the politicians’ he added.

Akorede also noted that the governor’s action has not only negated the principle of separation of powers but was also a clear disregard to a court order.

He said the provisions of the 1999 Constitution are not ambiguous as to the way and manner a Chief Judge of a state could be removed from office.

‘The law has since been settled in Nganjiwa v FRN (2017) LPELR-43391 (CA) that any misconduct attached to the office and functions of a judicial officer must first be reported to and determined by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

The Supreme Court in Elelu-Habeeb & Anor v AG Federation & Ors (2012) 12 NWLR (Pt 1318) 423 has clearly stated that the Chief Judge of a State cannot under any circumstances be removed including the infamous ‘step aside style’ without recourse to the NJC’ Lawal said.

He added that the NBA is troubled that  the Osun Government chose to ignore the lawful order of interim injunction  that was granted by the National Industrial Court , Ibadan.

‘The interim injunction restrained the Governor of Osun from interfering with the office of the Chief Judge of Osun state.

All decisions of court must be obeyed and complied with until they are set aside by a superior court of competent jurisdiction’  he added.

Lawal also asserted that the NBA would not recognize Justice Afolabi as acting Chief Judge of Osun-Team@orientactualmags.com
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