JUST IN……Senate confirms Onnoghen as CJN

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Justice Walter Onnoghen as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).This followed screening by the lawmakers on the floor of the house.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki said that the screening, clearance and entire exercise was another milestone progress in our democratic process.

“We hope that he would continue to ensure that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

He called on the CJN to build a closer relationship with the other arms of government.

“We look forward to a productive relationship with the legislative arm of government for the interest of our great country.”

He therefore congratulated him and wished him a fruitful tenure as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Contributing Senate Leader, Sen. Ahmed Lawan said that in spite of the fact that the three arms of government had various functions, each enjoyed some level of independence.

“We make laws and the judiciary interprets them. I suggest you build a closer working relationship with the legislature.

“We need to understand how you think and also you need to understand how we operate more so your reforms start from here,” he said.

Lawan said that a better working relationship with the legislature would make the work better and more successful for the CJN.

Similarly, the Senate Minority Leader Sen. Godswill Akpabio said that as a man of integrity, the CJN should ensure that he brought that into play in administering justice in the country.

“With your track records of achievement, we believe that we will have a reformed judiciary.

“We want to see an independent judiciary. The judiciary should help to strengthen our democracy. We don’t want the judiciary to be pocketed by politicians,” he said.