Osinbajo sends Onnoghen’s name to Senate for confirmation as CJN

Barely 48 hours to the expiration of the tenure of the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday finally sent his name to the Senate for confirmation.
A source close to the Office of the Senate President, confirmed that Senate President Bukola Saraki received the letter yesterday, demanding the senate to screen and confirm Justice Onnoghen as the substantive CJN.
Justice Walter Onnoghen hails from Cross River State.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senator who also confirmed the receipt of the letter by Saraki on Tuesday disclosed that the Senate was currently on recess, saying that Saraki may likely reconvene the Senate to commence the screening process before the expiration of Justice Onnoghen’s tenure as acting CJN on Friday.
“The Senate President is in receipt of the letter from the acting president, but it will be left to Senator Saraki to reconvene plenary to start the screening process.
“But even if he does so, the presidency should not expect us to rubber stamp Justice Onnoghen’s nomination, as we would have to carry out our own background checks, investigation and screening before deciding whether to confirm him or not,” the senator noted.
The transmission of Justice Onnoghen’s name to the Senate allegedly follows the clean bill he was given by the Department of State Service (DSS) that has been involved in the probe of some judges of the Supreme Court and other lower courts.
Similarly, a presidency source revealed that Osinbajo could renew the appointment of the acting CJN as an interim measure following the lack of sufficient time to conclude Justice Onnoghen’s screening processes in two days before the expiration of his tenure as the acting CJN which would be based on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) later today.
It was learnt that the National Judicial Council (CNJ) will hold an emergency meeting today to recommend the renewal of Justice Onnoghen’s tenure as the acting CJN.
Ironically, Justice Onnoghen, who doubles as the chairman of the NJC, will preside over the meeting.
It would be recalled that northerners had held the post of CJN for 30 years and that seemingly informed the pressure mounted on PMB recently to confirm Onnoghen as the substantive CJN