Bassey Inyang in Calabar
The Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Cross River state at the 2015 general elections, Mr. Odey Ochicha, has stated that President Muhammdu Buhari has shamed his critics and prophets of doom by appointing Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Ochicha said the swearing in of Onnogen on Thursday as acting CJN at the expiration of the tenure of former CJN, Mahmud Mohammed also proved wrong critics and prophets of doom who have constantly accused the led Buhari-led Federal Government of lopsided appointments into federal public offices.
Ochicha who stated this in a statement he made available to THISDAY in Calabar on Saturday said the appointment of Onnoghen has clearly showed that “the President appreciate integrity, discipline and hard work”.
Describing Onnoghen as a man with the potentials and credentials to sanitise the judiciary, Ochicha tasked the new CJN to always uphold the virtues that have helped his growth and elevation to the topmost position in the nation’s Judiciary.
“I want to congratulate my brother, Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen for his appointment as the Acting CJN. I pray that the Senate will speedily confirm his nomination considering how critical his position is to the development of our democracy in Nigeria.
“Also, I want to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for this appointment because he has shamed his critics and detractors who have consistently accused the President of nepotism each time he makes appointments.
“During the raid of homes of some judges accused of corruption, I read some funny statements from some governors that the President was trying to manoeuvre against appointing the first southerner in many years as CJN. Let all the prophets of doom hide their faces in shame now that it has happened.
“I want to encourage the CNJ to continue to uphold the virtues that endeared him to be trusted with such huge responsibility at this critical time of Nigeria’s democracy,” Ochicha said.
Ochicha urged Onnoghen to support the fight by the Federal Government to rid the judiciary of corrupt judges and corruption in other public spheres in the country.
“When you go through the profile of Justice Onnoghen, you will appreciate the fact that he is one of the few persons in the judiciary today who have the credentials and wherewithal to put an end to the commercialization of justice in Nigeria. This is when to show those great potentials and I charge him to completely support the government’s effort to sanitize the judiciary,” he said.
Ochicha acknowledged the appointments made by the president into his regime, stating that: “President Buhari has showed so much confidence in Cross Riverians in terms of appointments like no other President in the history of this country. So I want to beg our people especially those who are still allowing themselves to be used by the reactionary leaders against the President to retract their steps and support this government to succeed as his success is the success of all the Nigerian people.”
