Bayelsa Governor, Seriake Dickson
South-South governors have risen in unison to condemn the forced eviction from office and scheduled arraignment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The meeting holds on Sunday ahead of the planned arraignment on Monday.
The Federal Government is trying the CJN for alleged non-declaration of assets and money laundering. Justice Onnoghen who was reluctantly confirmed as CJN by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo while Buhari was away on a sick bed in London was said to own several domiciliary accounts in dollars and Euros which he failed to declare in his asset declaration form before the Code of Conduct Bureau.
According to Bayelsa State Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, who also doubles as the chairman of the South-South Governors’ forum, aside the issue of Onnoghen security concerns in South-South states ahead the 2019 general elections and the issue of the derivation are also top on the agenda.
The Special Adviser to the governor on media relations, Mr Fidelis Soriwei, in a statement said the meeting would hold in Abuja.
Dickson, however, expressed his views concerning the CJN, describing the development as “a grave and dangerous escalation coming few weeks to the general election.”
He said that the South-South Governors would address a press conference after the meeting to convey the position of the zone to the Nigerian public.
Governor Dickson said that all hands must be on deck to prevent the subversion and desecration of the ethos of democracy in Nigeria as the country moves nearer to the election.
While addressing his addressing his party men in Port Harcourt shortly after the news broke on Saturday, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said the current intimidation of the judiciary was a prelude to the APC plan to rig the 2019 election.
