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UDI LOCAL GOVERNMENT WARD PARTY CHAIRMEN PAY SOLIDARITY VISIT TO AKUABATA NJEZE (NNEDIULU) OVER HER SENATORIAL AMBITION

Published

4 years ago

May 18, 2022

Jeff Ejiofor and Chinedu Udeani Enugu

The PDP ward chairmen in Udi local government area paid a solidarity visit to Akuabata Njeze on Sunday, 15th May, 2022, to pledge their loyalty and support to her senatorial ambition.

In a meeting with them at her GRA residence, Njeze assured the party leaders of her readiness to provide quality representation to the people of Enugu West if given the opportunity to bear their banner at the senate. Nnediulu as she is fondly called told the ward party stalwarts that she is like ‘akidi’ that knows no boundaries, having empowered numerous sons and daughters of the zone in her days as a minister.

Addressing them further about her agenda for the people of Enugu West, Njeze prayed to be a tool in the hands of God to change the political narrative of Enugu West Zone by further uplifting the living condition of the people.

Reminding them about her people-oriented policies as a public servant which culminated in attracting many life touching projects in Enugu State, Ambassador Njeze stated that her conscience will never allow her to abandon her people on whose support she has attained political greatness. She further asserted that God has been so kind to her and that prompted her desire to seek a higher political opportunity to enable her give back to the people in appreciation of God’s mercies.

Like a grateful beneficiary, Njeze recounted how God used Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to sustain her political relevance in the present dispensation, and appealed that people should remember him in their daily prayers as leadership is one of the most difficult human endeavours. She in turn declared total support for Ugwuanyi’s administration, with a pronouncement of absolute loyalty to his cause even if it means to defend him with everything at her disposal, an indication that she does not forget people’s contributions in her life.

Going further in an emotion laden voice, Njeze assured her visitors that she will run an open door policy where everybody’s opinion will count, and affirmed that she is not like some politicians who usually shut their doors immediately after elections.

She equally condemned the activities of some selfish political leaders who covertly promote economic strangulation of their people with a view to exploiting their condition and ignorance. As a panacea, she vowed to change the narrative and pursue policies of self reliance in Enugu West Zone if she becomes the senator.

Responding, the leader of the delegation, Hon Ene Kevin from Nsude ward told her that all she did while in office as a minister were well known to them and many close observers. While pledging their total support for her, he narrated how Ndi Udi who were aware of her previous achievements, have been yearning for her services in an elective capacity.

One of them who expressed joy over Nnediulu’s current quest to go to the senate, told the gathering that she had never failed in her duties hence, the reason she remains the only woman in modern Nigeria that has served as a minister in three different ministries under one administration because of competence and capacity.

Also receiving the party delegates from Abor ward, her immediate constituency, Njeze thanked them for their faith and belief in her capacity to give them quality representation. She further assured them that they will never regret voting for her, as she will deploy her wide reach across Nigeria, and her international connection to attract political patronage and foreign direct investment to the zone. In their separate speeches, the leader of the delegation and the PDP chairman of Abor ward, Hon Louis Ogbuji and the youth leader, Hon Uche Okocha emphatically declared their unalloyed loyalty to her senatorial ambition.

They extolled her virtues and told her that their visit today (Sunday 15th May, 2022) was basically to express their gratitude to her for offering herself to serve her people at such a higher pedestal of national politics. They affirmed their conviction that Njeze remains the aspirant to beat in the forthcoming primaries having possessed all the requisite political maturity to handle the position.

In her closing remarks, Ambassador Njeze, also known as Nnediulu, made a passionate appeal and advised them to spread the news of her ambition in town, with a promise to live upto her responsibility if given the opportunity to prove herself.

The three times minister of the Federal Republic and a former ambassador of Nigeria to Switzerland, said she would liken her current quest to the popular Igbo adage that ‘agadi nwanyi ada aka nka n’egwu omalu agba’. She said from her wealth of experience, Enugu West will witness unprecedented transformation with her in the senate. After her remarks, overwhelming shouts of Nnediulu rented the air, signifying acceptability.

It ended in praise as Enugu State remains in the hands of God.

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NJC Cannot Dictate Chief Judge Nominee to Imo JSC, Attorney-General Insists

Published

9 hours ago

November 6, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Imo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Paul Obinatu has challenged the constitutional authority of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to direct the Imo State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on the candidate whose name it should submit for consideration in the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge of the state, describing such an intervention as an encroachment on the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the State Commission.

In a statement issued on November 6, 2026, the Attorney-General maintained that the NJC lacks the constitutional authority to dictate, control or substitute its preferred candidate for the independent assessment and recommendation process entrusted to the Imo State JSC under the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The objection follows a directive reportedly issued by the NJC to the Imo State JSC at its 112th meeting held on November 3, 2026, concerning the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge for the state.

The Attorney-General argued that the NJC’s constitutional responsibility to recommend a candidate to the Governor does not confer on it the additional power to determine or dictate the candidate the State Judicial Service Commission must submit to it. He maintained that the directive is constitutionally untenable because it interferes with a responsibility expressly vested in the State Judicial Service Commission.

SECTION 202 GUARANTEES IMO JSC’S INDEPENDENCE

Central to the Attorney-General’s objection is Section 202 of the Constitution, which expressly provides that the State Judicial Service Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or person in exercising its constitutionally assigned powers.

He argued that this provision establishes a clear constitutional safeguard against external interference in the Commission’s responsibilities and cannot be overridden by the NJC through administrative directives or procedural guidelines.

According to him, the NJC cannot invoke its national institutional status or its recommendation powers to exercise control over the Imo State JSC in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution.

Consequently, any directive requiring the State JSC to submit a particular candidate or dictating the outcome of its independent assessment would, in the Attorney-General’s interpretation, amount to unconstitutional interference.

CONSTITUTION ASSIGNS DISTINCT RESPONSIBILITIES TO NJC AND STATE JSC

The Attorney-General anchored his position on Section 271(1) and the relevant provisions of the Third Schedule to the Constitution.

Paragraph 6(a) of Part II of the Third Schedule empowers the State Judicial Service Commission to advise the NJC on suitable persons for nomination as Chief Judge of the state.

Conversely, Paragraph 21(c) of Part I of the Third Schedule empowers the NJC to recommend to the Governor, from among the list of persons submitted by the State JSC, a candidate for appointment as Chief Judge.

Section 271(1) further provides that the appointment shall be made by the Governor on the recommendation of the NJC, subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly.

According to the Attorney-General, these provisions establish a clear constitutional sequence: the State JSC identifies and advises on suitable candidates, the NJC considers the submitted names and makes its recommendation to the Governor, while the Governor exercises the appointing authority subject to legislative confirmation.

He insisted that the NJC’s recommendation powers cannot be interpreted as authority to dictate which candidate the State JSC must select or submit, as doing so would effectively transfer the Commission’s constitutional responsibility to the NJC and render Section 202 meaningless.

NJC GUIDELINES CANNOT OVERRIDE THE CONSTITUTION

Addressing the NJC’s Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the Appointment of Judicial Officers, the Attorney-General acknowledged the Council’s authority to prescribe and enforce procedural requirements for judicial appointments.

However, he maintained that such guidelines cannot confer powers beyond those granted by the Constitution or be used to compromise the independent functions of the State JSC.

He stressed that the NJC’s responsibility to ensure compliance with appointment procedures must not be extended to usurping the constitutional authority of the Imo State Judicial Service Commission.

COURT DECISIONS REINFORCE ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S POSITION

In support of his argument, the Attorney-General cited several judicial authorities which he said affirm the importance of constitutional boundaries and institutional independence.

They include Elelu-Habeeb & Anor. v. Attorney-General of the Federation & Ors. (2012) LPELR-15515(SC), Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission & Anor. v. Salisu & Ors. (2019) LPELR-47107(CA), and Bamisile v. National Judicial Council & Ors. (2012) LPELR-8381(CA).

Other authorities referenced are FRN v. Nganjiwa (2022) LPELR-58066(SC), NJC & Ors. v. Senlong & Ors. (2010) LPELR-4582(CA), and Attorney-General of the Federation v. Attorney-General of Abia State & Ors. (2024) LPELR-62576(SC).

The Attorney-General maintained that these authorities reinforce the principle that every constitutional institution must exercise its powers strictly within the limits prescribed by law, irrespective of its institutional standing.

IMO CHIEF JUDGE APPOINTMENT MUST FOLLOW CONSTITUTIONAL PROCEDURE

The Attorney-General warned that allowing the NJC to assume functions constitutionally assigned to the State JSC would undermine the integrity of the judicial appointment process and compromise the independence of the Commission.

He maintained that the issue is not a contest for institutional superiority between the NJC and the State JSC, but the need for each institution to respect the constitutional boundaries of its authority.

He further emphasised that the NJC’s responsibility to recommend a candidate to the Governor must not be confused with the power to control the independent selection and submission process of the State Commission.

The Attorney-General insisted that the ongoing appointment process must be conducted strictly in accordance with the Constitution, without interference that could undermine public confidence in the judiciary.

For the Imo State Attorney-General, the constitutional position is clear: while the NJC has the responsibility to recommend a candidate to the Governor, it has no authority to dictate to the Imo State Judicial Service Commission the candidate whose name it must submit in the exercise of its independent constitutional mandate.

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