South-south governor’s forum to meet over CJN travail

The South South Governor’s Forum has scheduled an emergency meeting for Sunday to discuss the developing move to remove Walter Onnoghen who is from Cross River state, as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

Recall that Onnoghen is being accused of failure to fully declare his assets before and after he was named CJN in March 2017.

In a statement signed by Ibraheem Al-Hassan, head of press and public relations unit of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Onnoghen will be arraigned on Monday over alleged non-declaration of assets.

Reacting to the development, special adviser on media relations to the governor of Bayelsa state, Fidelis Soriwei in a statement released on Saturday, said the security of the Niger Delta, during and after the election; the issue of derivation; and recent development involving the chief justice of the federation would feature for deliberation at the meeting.

Expressing his opinion at the development in the Supreme Court, Dickson said while he was yet to know the full details surrounding the developments at the Supreme Court concerning the CJN, it is a grave and dangerous escalation, coming a few weeks to the general elections.

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.

Dickson said that all efforts must be on deck to prevent the subversion and desecration of the ethos of democracy in Nigeria as nation moves nearer to the election.

The Code of Conduct Bureau has slammed a six count charge against the revered judge, who will be arraigned on Monday.

A civil society group, Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI), had petitioned the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), listing a number of allegations against Onnoghen.

He was accused of maintaining domiciliary foreign currencies account said to be contrary to relevant laws, especially for public office holders.

The group said its petition, dated January 7, 2019, became necessary “bearing in mind the imminence of the 2019 General Elections and the overwhelming roles of the Judicial Arm both before and after”.

The petition was stamped “received” by the office of the CCB chairman on January 9, 2019.