President Buhari, Thursday, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja,inaugurated Justice Walter Onnoghen as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
This development followed the retirement of Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who turned 70 years, the mandatory age of retirement.
Justice Onnoghen will act until the name of substantive CJN is forwarded to the Senate and it is confirmed.
Immediately after his inauguration, President Buhari charged him to play by the constitution as he perform his duties
“I congratulate the new acting CJN to come at a time that the institution that he is going to head, to play his role of the constitutional body after the executive and the legislature at this trying time for our nation. Trying time in the sense of the three identifiable problems this country is facing: physical security, the problem of economy and corruption.”
“In this room contains the constitutional bodies that are responsible for the bringing Nigeria back to life in terms of security and managing it efficiently while making sure that the economy is resuscitated and that security of doing business at all stages in the country is free and fair,” he stated.”
Responding, Onnoghen described his inauguration as overwhelming and thanked God for making it possible.
He assured President Buhari of “the fullest cooperation of the third arm of government in the continuation of the war against corruption and misconduct in the judiciary.”
He said while he intended to carry on from where his predecessors stopped; he would “modify certain areas with the general ultimate aim of having a better judiciary befitting the nation.
Onnoghen thanked the president for the confidence reposed in him, saying “by the grace of God, we shall succeed.”
