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The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said he had no sinister motives in visiting the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed.
Mr. Wike, who said this Wednesday through his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Ipunabo Inko-Tariah, said he went to see the CJN as part of measures to resolve the lingering crisis in the state’s judiciary.
“The truth is that the governor had no sinister motive in visiting the Chief Justice of Nigeria and that is why he went there openly,” said Mr. Inko-Tariah.
“You should be aware of the crisis in the Rivers State judiciary which was caused by the former Governor, Rotimi Amaechi. For a long time the courts were shut and there is no substantive Chief Judge in the state.”
He said the governor had written to the National Judicial Council, NJC, to renew the tenure of the state acting chief judge and the appointment of a substantive chief judge.
Mr. Inko-Taria, however, said Mr. Wike went to see Justice Mohammed to discuss the issues.
He accused the All Progressives Congress of mischief by going to the press about his visit to the CJN. He said democracy thrives where the three arms of the government work interdependently.
Although the law provides for separation of powers between the arms of the government, Mr. Inko-Taria argued that there cannot be total separation of powers in practice since none of the arms of the government can exist in isolation.
The APC in Rivers State had Tuesday warned Mr. Wike to desist from secret visits to the CJN with a view to influencing the outcome of election petitions in various tribunals.
The party’s spokesperson, Chris Finebone, had said the APC was aware of Mr. Wike’s visit to the CJN but decided not to make it a media issue and based on the party’s unflinching belief in the integrity of Mr. Mohammed.
“Having been brought to the public domain by the media, the APC would like to state that, satisfied that Wike’s visits were not to the knowledge of the revered CJN, we did not want to act in a way that would portray the CJN as someone that keeps bad company because the APC believes in the impeccable and incorruptible character of Justice Mahmud Mohammed,” the APC said.
“We also know that 10 Nyesom Wikes cannot compromise the CJN. However, it must be noted that, as part of monitoring the visits of the governor, we were able to identify a highly placed character in the Nigerian judiciary behind the plan and the real issues that prompted the visits.
“The excuse by the governor that his visit had something to do with the matter of appointment of Chief Justice for Rivers State flies in the face. That was a mere facade. We understand how government business works and the governor needed not personally pay any visits to the CJN over that matter in the way it was done.”
Reacting to the flurry of opinion on the matter, the media aide to CJN, Ahuraka Isa, said Justice Mohammed never met with Governor Wike.
“Our attention has been drawn to insinuations in some dailies that the Rivers state Governor Nyesom Wike had met with the Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Mahmud Mohammed, GCON during his visits to the office of the CJN on O6 July and 08 July this year,” he stated.
“However, we would not have ordinarily wished to react to such stories except for the misinformation and the erroneous impression it may cast in the mind of the public. We wish to state with all emphasis that the CJN at no time had an audience with Governor Wike. This include before, on and after the said date.”
He insisted that the CJN was not even aware of the visit until the next morning and assured the people of Rivers State the CJN is committed to upholding the integrity, neutrality and independence of the country’s judiciary.
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