On Wednesday, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the interim Chief Justice of Nigeria, appeared before senators in the Senate to be confirmed and screened as the official CJN.
Following the presentation of a letter from President Bola Tinubu to the Senate by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Tuesday’s plenary session, the screening took place.
Kekere-Ekun declared during the Wednesday session that the Court of Appeal must handle all pre-election disputes.
The Court of Appeal will be the final court to hear any pre-election matters. “Corruption is something I will not tolerate,” she declared.
She also expressed her disapproval of corruption in the judiciary and her refusal to put up with it in any form.
During her Senate confirmation process to become the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kekere-Ekun, who was sworn in as the acting Chief Justice by President Bola Tinubu, stated this.
After Justice Olukayode Ariwoola retired in August, Kekere-Ekun assumed the role of acting governor.
In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu referred to Section 231(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which gives the President the authority to name a Chief Justice on the National Judicial Council’s proposal, subject to Senate confirmation.
“I hereby forward the nomination of Honorable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, CON, for confirmation as the Chief Justice of Nigeria,” Tinubu stated in his letter.
“I hope the Senate will give this request careful thought and swift approval.”
Subsequently, the Senate President forwarded the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for a scheduled Wednesday discussion.
In the event that Justice Kekere-Ekun is confirmed, she will be the second woman to hold the office in Nigerian history and the 23rd substantive Chief Justice.
In order to permit guests, such as Supreme Court justices, judicial officers, and senior presidential advisers on subjects pertaining to the National Assembly, to join the chamber, the Senate relaxed its standing rules for the screening session.
ALSO READ:
