•Blessing Agbomhere
A frontline governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Edo 2024 Governorship Election, Blessing Agbomhere has promised to swear in the eight Judges cleared by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for appointment in the Edo state judiciary.
Agbomhere said the refusal of the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki to swear in the eight Judges is a violation of the 1999 Constitution as amended and a rape on democracy which stipulates respect for the rule of law and separation of powers.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, Agbomhere who is the former South-South Zonal Organising Secretary of the APC, said the Judiciary is a vital arm of government which should not be toyed with, adding that he is a believer in the rule of law.
“If I am elected as the Governor of Edo State and sworn in on the 12th of February, 2025, my first assignment will be to swear in the eight Judges Designate already recommended by the NJC and whose appointment processes have been concluded.
“The refusal of Governor Godwin Obaseki to swear them in stems from his disrespect for law and order. My Government will put in place safe guards against future abuse of executive powers.
“The eight Judges are unwarranted hiatus because of the refusal of the Governor to swear them in. Imagine the Chief Judge of Edo State refusing to swear in a Governor after the expiration of the tenure of the current administration on the 12th of November 2024, that is the sort of confusion the eight year administration of Obaseki has brought to Edo State.”
Agbomhere also recalled that the second tenure of Governor Obaseki began with a similar violation of the tenets of democracy, when he flagrantly manipulated the state House of Assembly not to swear in fourteen duly elected members of the House, thereby denying many constituencies in the state, the representation they deserve.
