Edo: Akpata asks Obaseki to swear in remaining three Judges

He alleged that Obaseki selectively swore in only five out of the eight recommended judges, about one year after the recommendation was made.

NBA President, Mr Olumide Akpata, speaks during a townhall on police reform on Channels Television on December 3, 2020.

A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association and governorship candidate of the Labour Party for the September 21 Edo Governorship Election, Olumide Akpata, is again calling on the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, to swear in the remaining three judges recommended by the National Judicial Council for the state judiciary.

Akpata made the call in a forum for legal professionals in Benin City, the Edo state capital on Tuesday.

He alleged that Obaseki selectively swore in only five out of the eight recommended judges, about one year after the recommendation was made.

He said, “We are calling on Governor Obaseki to do the right thing and swear in the three judges that he left out. That I when we will consider him a Democrat. But for now, we consider him as no respecter of the rule of law.

“I have spoken with him on this issue on several occasions. I sat as a member of the NDC when this issue arose but the governor has refused, and I will continue to speak out until he does the right thing.

“I will call on his attorney general to speak with him to hasten to swear them in. People’s lives and professions are at risk here, and I am always dedicated to speaking to this issue because I am running for the governor of Edo state. But any time I speak, one is accused of playing politics.

“But I don’t care because I am a lawyer of 31 years. I am a senior member of the bar, and this situation is unacceptable. Governor Obaseki must correct it, and I look for when he would announce a date for swearing in”.

Source: Channels