Young Progressives Party (YPP) has advised the Presidency to allow the rule of law take its course in the issue of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.
In a statement in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the YPP, Comrade Olawale Martins Egbeola, said the rule of law remained one of the fundamental pillars of democracy and should not be subjected to intuition or the will of an individual or group.
He added that anything short of this would be an invitation to anarchy.
He said, “The Young Progressives Party strongly condemn any acts of corruption by any individual or group of individuals irrespective of ethnicity, religion, social status or gender but of the firm belief that the law is supreme and the basis upon which the war against corruption should be fought and won.
“The recent allegatispecially coming up at a period when we are about to go into a general election that will ultimately define the destiny of our great country.
“We also observe that the haste by the Presidency in calling for the resignation of Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen is highly hypocritical especially coming from a government renowned for overlooking glaring acts of corruption against cabinet members such as Babachir Lawal before he was sacked, Kemi Adeosun before she went on exile, Abba Kyari, Adebayo Shittu and Okoi Obono-Obla to mention a few.
“This only gon of non declaration of assets by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Samuel Onnoghen is sad eoes to confirm the comment made by Senator Sheu Sani that the President fights corruption using insecticides when it comes to the opposition but apply deodorant when it comes to members of his cabinet.”
Egbeola noted that the APC-led government, with an unacceptable reputation of flagrant disregard for the rule of law, should desist from arm twisting relevant agencies within its control.
According to him, the Presidency should allow the wheel of justice to move smoothly without interference, rather than the current desperation that is beginning to suggest to Nigerians a conspiracy to get rid of Justice Walter Onnoghen by all means.
He said, “While time is irrelevant in the fight against corruption, the verdict of whether he is guilty or not is exclusively the prerogative of a competent court of law and the Young Progressives Party is calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to first allow the internal disciplinary processes of the National Judicial Council, which is a body saddled with the responsibility of taking disciplinary actions against erring judicial officers to be completely exhausted.”
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