The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has asked Justice Folahanmi Oloyede to resign her position as a member of the bench in the state over a petition she submitted to the Osun State House of Assembly, which seeks the impeachment of the state governor over financial recklessness.

Justice Oloyede had last week petitioned the Assembly over the unpaid salaries of the state workers and pensioners.

In a statement on Sunday by its Director of Publicity, Kunle Oyatomi, the APC described the judge’s petition as “significantly flawed because it is a bogus rehearsal of all the baseless allegations made by the Peoples Democratic Party in recent times, against the Aregbesola administration.”

It accused the judge of ganging up with the opposition to destroy the state government.

The APC noted that any public officer in the state owes loyalty to the state and that the government is a collective responsibility.

According to the APC, Justice Oloyede has grossly abused the privileges of her office by using the platform of the state’s judiciary to mount pressure on the state governor.

The statement read, “Whereas the judge, as a free citizen, has the right to express herself on matters affecting the country and her environment, as a judge of the state high court, she is ethically and morally restrained from making pronouncements that would be prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

The party, therefore, asked her to resign immediately “so that she will be free to pursue her delight outside the platform of the government.”

The party said the judge was loyal to the previous PDP government in the state.

The APC added, “We know a bit of the antecedents of the honourable judge in relation to the PDP government that Aregbesola took over from. It is probable she has not got over the shock as a result of that event.

“With the opportunity created by the tragedy facing Nigeria because of the PDP’s monstrous pillage of the country’s treasury, Justice Oloyede may simply be seeking a pound of flesh from the governor, to avenge her loss of relevance as a PDP supporter.

“We make bold to assert that Justice Oloyede’s petition is a ‘hate’ document laced with puerile sentiments and emotive overflow that could only come from a soul burdened with destructive hatred.”

In a separate statement, the Executive Secretary, Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State, Mr. Gbenga Ogunkanmi, asked the National Judicial Council to probe the activities of Justice Oloyede.

According to a statement on Sunday, the council boss made the remark while addressing members of the APC at a monthly meeting of the party in Ile-Ogbo, Osun State.

Ogunkanmi said that Justice Oloyede’s action contravened Rule 1 (a) and 3 (b) of the code of conduct for judicial officers in Nigeria.

Ogunkanmi, who absolved Aregbesola of alleged mismanagement of the state’s resources, said the NJC should restore the people’s confidence in the judiciary by sanctioning Oloyede as a deterrent to other judicial officers.

The council chairman said the call for Aregbesola’s impeachment was capable of inciting members of the public against the governor.

Also, a pan-Yoruba group, Oodua Nationalist Coalition, called on Oloyede to resign from the judiciary in the state.

ONAC, which is a coalition of several pan-Yoruba groups said since the judge was ready to defend the allegations made against Aregbesola, it is logical for the petitioner to resign from the bench for her to be able to defend her allegations without “institutional bias.”

The group, in a statement by its deputy chairman, Adeyemi Atiba, said the allegations raised by the judge would have full judicial and moral weight if only she resigns to defend those allegations in court.

The statement read, “We urge Justice Oloyede to resign. There are serious legal and moral issues involved in the allegations raised by the judge. The best thing for her to do is to resign. Her resignation from the bench is necessary because we do not expect her to be a member of the same judicial institution that is expected to hear the allegations she has raised.

“She cannot be a sitting judge at the same time giving evidence in any court of competent jurisdiction or panel that the House of Assembly may wish to constitute.”