The Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has revealed that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) would back autonomy for the judicial arm of government in a bid to strengthen it.
Fayemi said he had led a delegation on behalf of the forum to meet with the Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammad, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, to reach a common front on the modality for the implementation across the states of the federation.
The governor stated this while playing host to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President-Elect, Mr Olumide Akpata, in his office in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital on Monday.
Fayemi said judicial reform remained the bedrock of any democracy across the world, saying necessary reforms must be undertaken in the judiciary, to promote the rule of law in Nigeria.
He noted that the governors would collaborate with the new leadership of the NBA in achieving the desired reforms in the judiciary.
According to him, “One thing that is a priority to us in Nigeria Governors forum is Judicial Autonomy. All governors in Nigeria are for judicial autonomy, but the contention had always been the modality for implementation.
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“I have met with the CJN and President of the Court of Appeal working out the modalities for implementation to be in such a way that will be mutually beneficial. We consider judicial autonomy a critical component of our democratic growth and we must ensure that it happens.
“In Ekiti here, matters of Justice Sector Reform is so dear to our heart and we are ready to work with NBA to fast track action on this for the sake of our Judiciary.”
Fayemi added that Ekiti has been a vanguard in the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which he considered a huge crime against humanity, saying the NGF is putting machinery in motion to bring all the governors into the fray in this regard.
“And all our governors should be active in this fight and that was why the governors declared a state of emergency against GBV and with this, all governors must domesticate the GBV laws in their respective states.
“If we don’t empower girls and ensure they are put in schools, patriarchy will continue to dominate. We have sexual referral centre here in Ekiti that we established for the victims of violence and that is what should be applicable all over the states.
“We have support mechanism for the police and the NBA should also be active in giving a bite to the fight to promote gender balancing.”
Fayemi appealed to the NBA President-Elect to partner Ekiti Lawyers and give them a sense of belonging in the union, saying Ekiti has a long history of producing good and sound Lawyers who can be encouraged to become Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
Assuring that Ekiti State and NGF will back Akpata for him to succeed, Fayemi said: “I have no doubt that your tenure will bring transformation to NBA in many areas. I have two distinguished members of the bar from my state who partook in the race. But whatever happens, we are ready to queue behind the winner. I am not only assuring you of Ekiti support but that of NGF.”
On the issue of judicial autonomy, Akpata, who had earlier promised to bring radical development to NBA through promotion of welfare packages for lawyers, said the body won’t be a spectator in the task of injecting reform into the nation’s judiciary.
Akpata added that the NBA is going to be a partner and not spectator, adding, “there will be constructive engagements with the governors so that they won’t pay lip service to the implementation. We know what judicial autonomy is and we will ensure we get the real reform that our judiciary deserves.
“We won’t be sitting on the fence regarding this. In the absence of autonomy, what we have is an emasculated judiciary and it is the people that will suffer when this happens.”
Akpata stated that his presidency would promote the welfare of lawyers and add great value to the legal profession and improve its practice.
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