Former military governor of Kaduna state, retired Colonel Umar Dangiwa has joined those who are campaigning that the appointment of acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen should be forwarded to the National Assembly for confirmation or the Presidency should forget about another person for the job.
In a statement today, Thursday, Dangiwa said that going by the Nigerian extant Constitution, the tenure of Onnoghen as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria will expire in a few days from now and that if the Nigeria Judicial Council does not resubmits his nomination to the President, he will not qualify again to be made the substantive CJN.
“Without providing any cogent and plausible or believable reason for its failure to forward the name of Justice Onnoghen to the Senate for confirmation, the Presidency leaves Nigerians guessing and speculating about the reasons.
“Already, many analysts view this action as a ploy to deny a Southerner his right to succession, based on his seniority and in keeping with the appointment protocol that was observed in making the appointment.
“In the event of this occurrence, the NJC must not forward any other name nor should the Senate confirm any other nominee. This will serve to check the excesses of this administration and re-inforce the unity of the nation which has already been pushed to the precipice through recruitment and appointment policies of a government which tends to favour the north. This is in violation of the Federal Character provision of the Constitution.” [myad]
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