The National Judicial council (NJC) on Thursday recommended Justice Kekere-Ekun to succeed Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola will be retiring on August 22 at the mandatory retirement age of 70.
NJC spokesman, Soji Oye, in a statement on Thursday, indicated that the decision was taken at the Council’s 106th Meeting presided by the CJN Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Oye disclosed that the meeting was held on August 14 and 15 in Abuja, seven days before the retirement of Justice Ariwoola as the CJN.
According to the statement, “This is imperative as Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, will formally bow out of office as the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria next week Thursday, 22 August 2024.”
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola was appointed CJN on September 21, 2022, by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
On the hierarchy of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun is the most senior Justice on the bench.
The NJC also “recommend 27 candidates for appointment as Judges of States Courts and a candidate for appointment as Kadi of the Sharia Court of the FCT, Abuja to their various State Governors and Mr. President,” the statement further indicated.
On formal appointment, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun will become the second female CJN