The Osun State Government has denied reports that Governor Ademola Adeleke has removed the Chief Judge and appointed an acting Chief Judge in the State.
The State government clarified that the Governor had 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.
Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi in a statement on Sunday, disclosed that Gov Adeleke only intimated the Chief Judge of Nigeria, CJN, of the recommendation of the House that the Chief Judge should step aside.
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 a 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 the 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”.
Credible News recalls that the media recently reported how the Osun State Governor defied a court order and appointed Justice Afolabi as the acting Chief Judge of the State.
The Nigerian Bar Association, had also slammed Adeleke for bending the rule and orchestrating the removal of the State chief judge, Justice Adepele Ojo.
