By Nathaniel Zacchaeus
Some lawmakers have alleged that Senator Ahmad Lawan’s leadership of the Senate is currently plotting to deny the acting Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola’s confirmation close to three months after his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The acting CJN was appointed on June 27, 2022, and he has three months to get the Senate confirmation, failure of which he would require a fresh nomination.
Ariwoola would after the three months of acting capacity either secure a fresh request to the Senate or the President sends another nominee to the Red Chamber for confirmation.
Some of the federal lawmakers, who spoke with ThisNigeria on the issue, lamented that Lawan, despite all pleas, allegedly failed to ensure Ariwoola’s confirmation before the Senate proceeded on recess till September 20.
The Senate had on Wednesday, July 28, commenced a seven-week annual recess.
This followed the adjournment of the plenary by Senate President Ahmad Lawan till September 20, 2022.
Buhari, in a letter dated July 26, asked the Senate to confirm Ariwoola’s appointment as the substantive CJN, three days before the National Assembly’s annual vacation.
This was contained in a letter from the President read by the Senate President, at plenary.
The letter read, “Under Section 231(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola is the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“While I hope that the submission will be considered in the usual expeditious manner, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
Ariwoola’s appointment as CJN by Buhari was a sequel to the resignation of former Chief Justice Muhammad Tanko on 27th June 2022.
Tanko’s resignation was against the backdrop of a protest by 14 aggrieved Justices over issues of welfare.
However, the former CJN, in his resignation letter, cited health grounds as the reason for his decision.
Ariwoola on Monday, June 27, took the oath of office as the acting CJN. His appointment, which is in an acting capacity, took effect from that day.
The President administered the oath of office on Ariwoola at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The NJC had recommended Ariwoola to Buhari for appointment as the acting CJN following the resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammad.
Ariwoola being the most senior judicial officer of the Supreme Court after Justice Muhammad, was next in line for the position of CJN.
According to tradition, when an incumbent head of court vacates office either because of death, retirement, resignation, or sack, the next most senior judicial officer in the court takes over.
The appointment of the CJN is provided for in Section 231 of the Constitution.
It provides that the President is the appointor, but for him to appoint, he must receive a recommendation from the National Judicial Council (NJC) after which he forwards the name of the appointee to Senate for confirmation.
Thus, under normal circumstances, when he receives the recommendation of the NJC, he should, if he is satisfied with the nomination, pass on the name of the nominee to the Senate for confirmation.
Once Senate confirms the appointment, the nominee becomes the CJN after he has been sworn into office by the President.
By Section 231(4) of the Constitution, the President has the power to appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court in an acting capacity until a substantive Chief Justice is appointed.
However, such an appointment lapses after three months, and the President cannot re-appoint the same person as acting CJN unless he receives a recommendation to that effect from the NJC.
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*Senators finger Lawan in alleged grand plot
Some senators, who spoke on and off the record on the development, alleged that there could be a grand plot to deny a southerner from Osun State from heading the Judiciary as the nation approach crucial general elections next year.
They noted that the confirmation of Ariwoola was part of the issues discussed in the closed session two days before the annual recess but that Lawan allegedly refused to act on it.
However, the Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, told ThisNigeria that he had expected the Senate to confirm Ariwoola’s appointment before the Red Chamber proceeded on the long break.
He said, “We still had two days before we proceeded on recess to confirm Ariwoola’s appointment but I don’t know why the Senate leadership decided to hold the exercise.
“We don’t need to refer it to any committee. It is what we could do at Plenary and conclude within a few hours. Why should we put it on hold till when we resume in September?
“It is an exercise that we had to conclude before September 27, otherwise a fresh process would have to start.”
*Falana says NJC will resist Senate’s alleged conspiracy
However, Human Rights Activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana has allayed the fears over Ariwoola’s appointment.
Falana told ThisNigeria in an interview that the NJC would still insist on Ariwoola’s appointment if the Senate failed to act on his screening and confirmation before September 27.
He said, “There is no cause for alarm because the Senate still had up to September 27 to confirm the acting CJN’s appointment.
“In any case, if nothing was done before the expiration of the three months, I can assure you that the CJN would still recommend Ariwoola to President Muhammadu Buhari for appointment as the CJN.”
