The All Progressives Congress in Osun
State has asked Justice Folahanmi Oloyede to resign her position as a
member of the bench in the state over a petition she submitted to the
Osun State House of Assembly, which seeks the impeachment of the state
governor over financial recklessness.
Justice Oloyede had last week petitioned the Assembly over the unpaid salaries of the state workers and pensioners.
In a statement on Sunday by its Director
of Publicity, Kunle Oyatomi, the APC described the judge’s petition as
“significantly flawed because it is a bogus rehearsal of all the
baseless allegations made by the Peoples Democratic Party in recent
times, against the Aregbesola administration.”
It accused the judge of ganging up with the opposition to destroy the state government.
The APC noted that any public officer in
the state owes loyalty to the state and that the government is a
collective responsibility.
According to the APC, Justice Oloyede
has grossly abused the privileges of her office by using the platform of
the state’s judiciary to mount pressure on the state governor.
The statement read, “Whereas the judge,
as a free citizen, has the right to express herself on matters affecting
the country and her environment, as a judge of the state high court,
she is ethically and morally restrained from making pronouncements that
would be prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
The party, therefore, asked her to
resign immediately “so that she will be free to pursue her delight
outside the platform of the government.”
The party said the judge was loyal to the previous PDP government in the state.
The APC added, “We know a bit of the
antecedents of the honourable judge in relation to the PDP government
that Aregbesola took over from. It is probable she has not got over the
shock as a result of that event.
“With the opportunity created by the
tragedy facing Nigeria because of the PDP’s monstrous pillage of the
country’s treasury, Justice Oloyede may simply be seeking a pound of
flesh from the governor, to avenge her loss of relevance as a PDP
supporter.
“We make bold to assert that Justice
Oloyede’s petition is a ‘hate’ document laced with puerile sentiments
and emotive overflow that could only come from a soul burdened with
destructive hatred.”
In a separate statement, the Executive
Secretary, Ayedire Local Government Area of Osun State, Mr. Gbenga
Ogunkanmi, asked the National Judicial Council to probe the activities
of Justice Oloyede.
According to a statement on Sunday, the
council boss made the remark while addressing members of the APC at a
monthly meeting of the party in Ile-Ogbo, Osun State.
Ogunkanmi said that Justice Oloyede’s
action contravened Rule 1 (a) and 3 (b) of the code of conduct for
judicial officers in Nigeria.
Ogunkanmi, who absolved Aregbesola of
alleged mismanagement of the state’s resources, said the NJC should
restore the people’s confidence in the judiciary by sanctioning Oloyede
as a deterrent to other judicial officers.
The council chairman said the call for
Aregbesola’s impeachment was capable of inciting members of the public
against the governor.
Also, a pan-Yoruba group, Oodua Nationalist Coalition, called on Oloyede to resign from the judiciary in the state.
ONAC, which is a coalition of several
pan-Yoruba groups said since the judge was ready to defend the
allegations made against Aregbesola, it is logical for the petitioner to
resign from the bench for her to be able to defend her allegations
without “institutional bias.”
The group, in a statement by its deputy
chairman, Adeyemi Atiba, said the allegations raised by the judge would
have full judicial and moral weight if only she resigns to defend those
allegations in court.
The statement read, “We urge Justice
Oloyede to resign. There are serious legal and moral issues involved in
the allegations raised by the judge. The best thing for her to do is to
resign. Her resignation from the bench is necessary because we do not
expect her to be a member of the same judicial institution that is
expected to hear the allegations she has raised.
“She cannot be a sitting judge at the
same time giving evidence in any court of competent jurisdiction or
panel that the House of Assembly may wish to constitute.”
Punch
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