In a fresh twist to the crisis rocking the appointment of an acting Chief Judge, the government has denied that Governor Ademola Adeleke has removed the Chief Judge and appointed an acting Chief Judge.
InsightMedia recalls that the Spokesperson to Adeleke had on Thursday in a statement sent to journalists in Osogbo announced the appointment of Justice Olayinka Afolabi as the acting Chief Judge of the State, adding that it was acting on a resolution of the House of Assembly recommending immediate suspension of Justice Adepele Adebola Ojo.
The one-paragraph statement read, “Governor Ademola Adeleke has appointed Justice Olayinka David Afolabi as the acting Chief Judge of Osun state with immediate effect following the approval of the resolution of the House of Assembly.”
Subsequently, another statement revealed that the Deputy Governor, Prince Kola Adewusi would swear in Justice Afolabi. The swearing was never held as Afolabi reportedly did not show up.
In a fresh twist on Sunday, the government in a statement by Kolapo Alimi, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment denied appointment of the acting Chief Judge.
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 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.”
The statement concluded that Adeleke is 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.”
