Reprieve came the way of the newly-appointed acting Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Peter Agumagu, Thursday as the state branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), yesterday pledged their support for and cooperation with him. The appointment of the acting chief judge had been smeared with controversy, as some groups have said the state Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, violated the constitution in the selection and appointment of Agumagu. But, while Agumagu can heave a sigh of relief, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has welcomed a court judgment that stopped Amaechi’s bid to stop the party from going on with its planned performance evaluation of all the political office holders elected and appointed on the platform of the party. The PDP also yesterday began the performance evaluation of political office holders but without inviting Amaechi and 27 members of the state House of Assembly, whom the party said were on suspension from the party. On Agumagu, the NBA and senior advocates pledged their support and cooperation to the new acting chief judge of the state when they visited him at the state judiciary complex in Port Harcourt Thursday. In their separate addresses, the groups said they were happy with Agumagu’s appointment, and urged him to sustain the robust relationship they enjoyed with his predecessor, Justice Iche Ndu. In his speech, Chairman of the state branch of the NBA, Lawrence Oko-Jaja, said his appointment was in accordance with the law, until a substantive chief judge was appointed as the position could not be left vacant. Oko-Jaja called on the acting chief judge to continue to uplift the image and tenets of the judiciary in the state and also strive to make rulings and judgments available when delivered for lawyers. Speaking on behalf of the Body of SANs, Granville Abibor, urged Agumagu to replicate his developmental strides at the Customary Court of Appeal in the High Court. Abibor urged him to be accessible both to the lawyers and staffers and sustain the relationship, as it would create a peaceful working environment for legal practice. He said: “On behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, I congratulate you and assure you of our support. You have maintained a cordial relationship and shown respect for lawyers. We urge you to sustain the tempo with the bar and supporting staffers. “Carry the bar along in their practice. The relationship of the bar and bench should remain strong. If you want to experience peace, transient peace, carry us along.” In his response, Agumagu commended them for their visit, saying it was a demonstration of their support, which had given him confidence in his new portfolio. He pledged to address their demands within the short time he would be in office. “I can perform with confidence because your visit has shown me the Bar is solidly behind me. With the confidence, I can face all odds that may come my way. The little I can afford to do within my short time, I will do,” he said. Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday began the evaluation of its members serving at the federal, state and local government levels. However, the names of Amaechi and the 27 members of the state assembly, believed to be loyal to the governor, were conspicuously missing from the list of those being investigated by the party, through its Committee on Membership Performance Evaluation. Addressing journalists at the State PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt, Chairman of the committee, Hon. Osinakachukwu Ideozu, said Amaechi and the 27 lawmakers were not invited to appear before the committee because they were on suspension from the party. Ideozu, a former Commissioner for Finance in the first tenure of Amaechi, gave the names of those invited as the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Tele Ikuru; Senator Magnus Abe; Senator George Sekibo; and Senator Wilson Ake, as well as Ms Amal Pepple and Chief Nyesom Wike, both serving ministers. In another development, a socio-political group, Rivers Peoples Forum(RPF), has condemned the statements by the Grassroots Development Initiative(GDI) and the state PDP over the appointment of Agumagu as the acting chief judge of the state. The RPF President, Charles Bekwele, in a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, described the comments of GDI and Obuah as most irresponsible, an embarrassment to Rivers State and the handiwork of Wike. He said, “If you look at the comments against the appointment of Agumagu, you will see one trend, one line masterminded and written by Wike. As far as Rivers people are concerned, there is no controversy over the appointment. Governor Amaechi did the correct thing by appointing Agumagu, who is the most senior judge. All the so called controversies are been contrived and generated by Nyesom Wike boys just to cause confusion and mislead the public. This has been his stock-in-trade.”
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 05:51:10 +0000
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