Two weeks to the expiration of the three months tenure of Walter Onnoghen as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, there is growing disquiet over the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to forward his name to the Senate for confirmation as substantive head of Nigeria’s judiciary.


The National Judicial Council had on October 6, 2016 recommended Mr. Onnoghen to President Buhari as successor to Mahmud Mohammed whose tenure was to expire on November 9, 2016.


But rather than immediately forward the name to the Senate for confirmation or reject the recommendation, the President on November 10 appointed Mr. Onnoghen to the office in acting capacity. That appointment will lapse on February 10 based on a constitutional provision.


As stipulated in Chapter 7, Section 31 (1) of the Constitution, “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate”.


Chapter four of the same section states that; “If the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.


The Constitution further states in sub-section (5) of the same section that; “Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, an appointment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appointment a person whose appointment has lapsed”.


From the foregoing, lawyers say that unless Mr. Onnoghen’s name is forwarded to the Senate and he is confirmed, he would cease to be the acting CJN from February 10. Mr. Buhari would also not be able to submit his name to the Senate as substantive CJN after that date and he would have to be replaced.
According to some legal practitioners, the failure of Mr. Buhari to forward the name of Mr. Onnoghen to the Senate, long after his recommendation, is dangerous for Nigeria and the judiciary in particular.


Speaking on the matter, shortly before the expiration of the tenure of the former CJN, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sebastine Hon, described Mr. Buhari’s delay in processing the confirmation of Mr. Onnoghen as “scary, to say the least”.


“The name of Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, the next most Senior Justice of the Supreme Court, has since October, 2016 been forwarded to the President, who is expected, constitutionally, to forward it to the Senate for confirmation.

“Till this moment, Mr. President has not forwarded Justice Onnoghen’s name to the Senate for confirmation. This is scary, to say the least”, Mr. Hon had stated.


But hours after the said expiration of Mr. Mohammed’s tenure on October 10, the president appointed Mr. Onnoghen to fill the vacant position, as stipulated by the Constitution.


As the expected three months during which Mr. Onnoghen can act as chief justice draws near, stakeholders have been speaking on the implications of not submitting his name to the Senate.
Speaking on the development, Rotimi Oguneso, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, viewed the president as “having a penchant for stirring up needless controversies”.


“This is where I find a problem with this government. It appears the present government has a penchant for stirring up needless controversies.


“The NJC has recommended Justice Onnoghen, who is the most senior judge to be the next CJN. What the president needs to do is to send his name to the Senate and it will come into being”, Mr. Oguneso said.


“The government has not told us; I am not aware of any situation or any disability on the part of Honourable Justice Onnoghen. He has already been recommended even to the substantive office, why make him acting in the first instance? That is where the controversy started.


“The Nigerian government right from the Obasanjo time, do not seem to like the collegial system of appointment; whereby it is the judiciary that has so much say on who becomes the Chief Justice. But the truth of the matter is that if they do not like it; why don’t they push for a constitutional amendment?


“The former President Obasanjo did express his reservations, that the executive doesn’t seem to have so much say; but I don’t see that as being correct. Because there is nobody who is appointed a judge whom the State Security Service will not have conducted an investigation upon. If the president has anything against a certain appointee, he should state it. Why not make it public?” Mr. Oguneso queried.
For another senior advocate, Samson Ameh, the situation is not one that cannot be remedied as the NJC still reserves a constitutional right to intervene.


“The NJC can still intervene and prolong the period, possibly. So as it is now, if the period of three months is to expire, I will recommend the intervention of the NJC to enable the president take the decision that is to be taken,” said Mr. Ameh who encouraged the presidency to ‘act in order to avoid a constitutional crisis’.


Another lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, also said that the situation should not degenerate into something worrisome as many Nigerians presume.


“The hysteria in town about the possibility of a doomsday that is looming; that once that three month clocks, then the judiciary will be thrown into a pandemonium, or a new CJN may then be appointed on a rotational bases; that doomsday prediction may not occur”, Mr. Ogunye said.


“Let’s apply the facts to that provision; the NJC currently is headed by this same acting CJN, so the NJC can exercise the power to say we want the present acting CJN to continue, and the president cannot override that recommendation,” he said.
Mr. Ogunye however queried the president’s silence on the matter.


“What this president has failed to do is to either forward his name to the Senate or, if he has any reason that is cogent and verifiable for not accepting the recommendation, he then consults with the NJC on that subject.


“The Third Schedule to the Constitution, in Part One, Paragraph 21 and 22, details the composition of the NJC and the powers of the NJC. Under those provisions you will see that the president is empowered to consult with the NJC on any matter pertaining to the Judiciary.


“So under that position that allows for consultation, the president or governor of a state, if he has any reservation, is obliged to consult with the NJC. And the president can have such an objection, because it’s not a rubberstamp.


“So what this president has not done, which a lot of people find objectionable and unacceptable is that he has not exercised his power regarding this matter, and I have serious objection to that kind of dilatory and lethargic approach”, said Mr. Ogunye.


He added that the constitutional position of the NJC is not without its own faults and that before the expiration of these three months, the presidency is not under any obligation to succumb to the recommended choice of a CJN by the council.


“Some people have said that the position of the presidency is merely a rubberstamp; he has no choice in the matter. I don’t think so. What I think rankles and is unacceptable is for the presidency not to act. The NJC is constituted in such a way that it is possible for somebody who is not desirable to be a CJN to emerge. What is the tradition here? The most senior.


“At that point of recommendation, other persons do not have a say. And being that the NJC in recent times has done certain things that people have found very objectionable. Indeed, the NJC did come out to defend the judges, some of whom are on trial now, only for them to backtrack when they saw the groundswell of public opinion against that kind of stands, in the face of overwhelming damming evidence in the public domain.
“So my opinion is that government has to act on that recommendation. If he has a reservation let the president disclose it. You can’t allow government business to be transacted on the basis of speculation”.
Mr. Ogunye lamented the repeated cases of delays in ensuring the confirmation of public office holders by the Executive arm of government, describing the development as a “questionable style of governance”.


“And I have questioned what is now becoming a style of governance. Magu was appointed acting chairman of EFCC and it took months, something that ought to take days, before his name was forwarded to the Senate for confirmation. You go to constitute a cabinet and it took about eight months. As we speak some heads of agencies, parastatals and corporations are yet to be established.

“Now that we are talking about the Judiciary, when the president knows that he has to exercise this power, why has he not done so, or if he has a reservation, why has he not approached the NJC in good conscience?

“And this is rife. For over three months, this debate has generated various dimensions, basically an ethnic dimension, regional dimension and a dimension of the allegation that the Executive arm of government wants to control the Judiciary”, Mr. Ogunye said.

Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to get the presidency to comment on whether or not the name of Mr. Onnoghen will be sent to the Senate yielded no results.

The Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said he was not in a position to comment on the matter, since the President was on vacation out of the country.

The spokesperson for the Vice President, Laolu Akande, neither picked his calls nor called back when approached by PREMIUM TIMES. He also failed to reply to text messages.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/221728-buhari-under-fire-over-inaction-on-acting-chief-justice-onnoghen.html

But why can't the President forward the name of this man? This is ridiculous and unacceptable. If he has skeleton they should state it...

if he was fulani we wouldnt read stories like this for sure

PMB is a cunning anarchist!

he creates crisis where there should be none & when the crisis snowballs into an avalanche, he simply sidesteps the matter & let's others take the brunt of the force.

he then blames someone else for the avalanche while his Social Media Idiots spread half-truths & outright lies exonerating the provocateur-in-chief...

His name hasn't been sent because he is not 'ABUBAKAR, MOHAMMED' or 'IBRAHIM'...

Mr President cannot be stampeded. As of now, he has not run foul of the constitutional provision.

If he rejects the nomination of the NJC, they are bound to renominate another person.

He has neither signified his interest to send his name as substantive CJN or reject him. And he has not run foul of any constitutional provision as of now. Critics should hold on a bit until the Acting tenure spans out before they start their tongue-lashing.

The constitution did not say Mr President is mandated to only accept the first choice of the NJC. If he rejects him, they will simply renominate another person. There is no controversy.

sarrki don go leave

agabusta:
Mr President cannot be stampeded. As of now, he has not run foul of the constitutional provision.

If he rejects the nomination of the NJC, they are bound to renominate another person.

He has neither signified his interest to send his name as substantive CJN or reject him. And he has not run foul of any constitutional provision as of now. Critics should hold on a bit until the Acting tenure spans out before they start their tongue-lashing.

The constitution did not say Mr President is mandated to only accept the first choice of the NJC. If he rejects him, they will simply renominate another person. There is no controversy.

even Though Magu of effc's name was sent for confirmation afta almost 2yrs in acting capacity, the hypocrites didn't see anything wrong wit it.
now it involves a southerner pmb is being accused of bias.
this is jus he sadly our ppl ve become very blind.

NOETHNICITY:
even Though Magu of effc's name was sent for confirmation afta almost 2yrs in acting capacity, the hypocrites didn't see anything wrong wit it.
now it involves a southerner pmb is being accused of bias.
this is jus he sadly our ppl ve become very blind.

I just dont understand what has come over them.

agabusta:
Mr President cannot be stampeded. As of now, he has not run foul of the constitutional provision.

If he rejects the nomination of the NJC, they are bound to renominate another person.

He has neither signified his interest to send his name as substantive CJN or reject him. And he has not run foul of any constitutional provision as of now. Critics should hold on a bit until the Acting tenure spans out before they start their tongue-lashing.

The constitution did not say Mr President is mandated to only accept the first choice of the NJC. If he rejects him, they will simply renominate another person. There is no controversy.

If you say everyone should wait till the time lapses that would amount to some level of acquiescence. We cannot pretend that d country has not been polarised along ethnic n religious lines; the Judiciary has been headed strictly by Northerners for upwards of 30yrs and no Southern President has left any nominated CJN acting in limbo and unsure of his status. Naturally, if you're honest, u can clearly see how it feeds into the narrative of bias n religious intolerance on the part of the government.

The President is not at liberty to pick n choose who becomes CJN without proffering cogent reasons for rejecting anyone nominated by the NJC. It also goes against the spirit of the Constitution to simply wait out the three months and then have another nominee presented. If he has a problem with the acting CJN becoming substantive CJN hence his curious refusal to comply with constitutional requirements, he ought to state them formally within this 3 months and d nominee or acting CJN in this case should be afforded enough time to respond to whatever issues d executive may raise. Allowing the 3 months to lapse precludes all of those and does not bode well for democratic governance.

It is not out of place for d president to at all times act timeously, he doesn't have to be bound by law to do that! It's simple n common decency. Now I have always quarrelled with leaving an appointee in acting capacity for even longer than a month because it fetters his independence with his fate hanging in d balance because he doesn't know if he'll be confirmed or kicked out n replaced by another. The issue with Magu would have been avoided if d president had been proactive in having him vetted by d DSS say a month before the expiration of the tenure of d previous EFCC boss; once cleared, his name would have been forwarded to the Senate and he'd have been confirmed upon appointment. That way he doesn't play his hands and it begins to look like the Senate is threatened by his 'diligence' and then appears to deliberately scuttle his substantive appointment. That is not stampeding the president, it is proper practice n common sense.

Now, if the Acting CJN is passed over for his junior, that offends d principle of seniority within the judiciary. What happens next? Will he then be forced to retire without attaining the mandatory age of retirement when he's not incapacitated in any way? There must be balance in all things and frankly, d president should have jumped at the chance to have an arm of government headed by a southerner to avoid unnecessary disquiet and earn him even better acceptance. As it stands, he just keeps giving off the strong stench of ethnic and religious bigotry.

freeze001:


If you say everyone should wait till the time lapses that would amount to some level of acquiescence. We cannot pretend that d country has not been polarised along ethnic n religious lines; the Judiciary has been headed strictly by Northerners for upwards of 30yrs and no Southern President has left any nominated CJN acting in limbo and unsure of his status. Naturally, if you're honest, u can clearly see how it feeds into the narrative of bias n religious intolerance on the part of the government.

The President is not at liberty to pick n choose who becomes CJN without proffering cogent reasons for rejecting anyone nominated by the CJN. It also goes against the spirit of the Constitution to simply wait out the three months and then have another nominee presented. If he has a problem with the acting CJN becoming substantive CJN hence his curious refusal to comply with constitutional requirements, he ought to state them formally within this 3 months and d nominee or acting CJN in this case should be afforded enough time to respond to whatever issues d executive may raise. Allowing the 3 months to lapse precludes all of those and does not bode well for democratic governance.

It is not out of place for d president to at all times act timeously, he doesn't have to be bound by law to do that! It's simple n common decency. Now I have always quarrelled with leaving an appointee in acting capacity for even longer than a month because it fetters his independence with his fate hanging in d balance because he doesn't know if he'll be confirmed or kicked put n replaced by another. The issue with Magu would have been avoided if d president had been proactive in having him vetted by d DSS say a month before the expiration of the tenure of d previous EFCC boss; once cleared, his name would have been forwarded to the Senate and he'd have been confirmed upon appointment. That way he doesn't play his hands and it begins to look like the Senate is threatened by his 'diligence' and then appears to deliberately scuttle his substantive appointment. That is not stampeding the president, it is proper practice n common sense.

Now, if the Acting CJN is passed over for his junior, that offends d principle of seniority within the judiciary. What happens next? Will he then be forced to retire without attaining the mandatory age of retirement when he's not incapacitated in any way? There must be balance in all things and frankly, d president should have jumped at the chance to have an arm of government headed by a southerner to avoid unnecessary disquiet and earn him even better acceptance. As it stands, he just keeps giving off the strong stench of a an ethnic and religious bigot.

All this passage for me alone?? Okay please. I agree to all your points, before you come back with x2 of this.

agabusta:


All this passage for me alone?? Okay please. I agree to all your points, before you come back with x2 of this.

U try...very funny

freeze001:


If you say everyone should wait till the time lapses that would amount to some level of acquiescence. We cannot pretend that d country has not been polarised along ethnic n religious lines; the Judiciary has been headed strictly by Northerners for upwards of 30yrs and no Southern President has left any nominated CJN acting in limbo and unsure of his status. Naturally, if you're honest, u can clearly see how it feeds into the narrative of bias n religious intolerance on the part of the government.

The President is not at liberty to pick n choose who becomes CJN without proffering cogent reasons for rejecting anyone nominated by the CJN. It also goes against the spirit of the Constitution to simply wait out the three months and then have another nominee presented. If he has a problem with the acting CJN becoming substantive CJN hence his curious refusal to comply with constitutional requirements, he ought to state them formally within this 3 months and d nominee or acting CJN in this case should be afforded enough time to respond to whatever issues d executive may raise. Allowing the 3 months to lapse precludes all of those and does not bode well for democratic governance.

It is not out of place for d president to at all times act timeously, he doesn't have to be bound by law to do that! It's simple n common decency. Now I have always quarrelled with leaving an appointee in acting capacity for even longer than a month because it fetters his independence with his fate hanging in d balance because he doesn't know if he'll be confirmed or kicked put n replaced by another. The issue with Magu would have been avoided if d president had been proactive in having him vetted by d DSS say a month before the expiration of the tenure of d previous EFCC boss; once cleared, his name would have been forwarded to the Senate and he'd have been confirmed upon appointment. That way he doesn't play his hands and it begins to look like the Senate is threatened by his 'diligence' and then appears to deliberately scuttle his substantive appointment. That is not stampeding the president, it is proper practice n common sense.

Now, if the Acting CJN is passed over for his junior, that offends d principle of seniority within the judiciary. What happens next? Will he then be forced to retire without attaining the mandatory age of retirement when he's not incapacitated in any way? There must be balance in all things and frankly, d president should have jumped at the chance to have an arm of government headed by a southerner to avoid unnecessary disquiet and earn him even better acceptance. As it stands, he just keeps giving off the strong stench of a an ethnic and religious bigot.

Mr President is sending a very wrong and dangerous message to the nation. If he (Acting CJN) has some strong case of corruption confront him. If not send his name to be confirmed by the senate else those who are calling out this administration for tribalism are not far from the truth.

freeze001:


U try...very funny

its always hard for people who are sincere to dispute facts.

PMB is simply trying to create a crisis where there is none & then reap from the resultant catastrophe.

NOETHNICITY:
even Though Magu of effc's name was sent for confirmation afta almost 2yrs in acting capacity, the hypocrites didn't see anything wrong wit it.
now it involves a southerner pmb is being accused of bias.
this is jus he sadly our ppl ve become very blind.

are you for real?

comparing a post under the executive arm of government to the position of the head of the Judicial arm of government? EFCC chairman is no different from a minister.

in a Democratic Federal system with separation of powers, leaving any of the headship of the arms of government in acting capacity for any amount of time is dangerous. The Executive, Legislative & Judicial arms of government are essential to democracy as is a truly independent electoral body.

its not even about it been a southerner, its about avoiding unnecessary delay on such sensitive issue.

in the absence of the President/vice president, Senate president/speaker, the CJN is next inline to became president if anything untoward happens to the others.

its not a position to be unnecessarily left in limbo.