The Osun State Government has denied knowledge of any plot against Justice Adepele Ojo, the Chief Judge of the state.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi on Wednesday in Osogbo, the state government also affirmed its commitment to due process and stipulated regulations across the arms of government.
“The State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke and his team are preoccupied with delivering on good governance to the citizenry with no time for diversionary conducts,” the statement said.
While stressing that the Constitution and the state’s laws clearly spell out responsibilities of state officials, the government added that the same laws laid out rules for accountability and transparency across government sectors.
“The Governor and all government officials whether elected or appointed into any arm of government are not immune from the accountability process.
“The Governor is therefore not in a position to stop the legislature from doing her statutory job and neither can the Governor hamstring the judiciary in the performance of its duties.
“The Governor is however committed to supporting all arms of government to operate within the ambit of the law and constitution.
“We have stated it persistently that those holding social media briefs for the Chief Judge are not doing the Judiciary any good. The sponsored civil society groups that failed to acknowledge the good that the Adeleke-led Administration is doing for the Judiciary are those running sponsored lies against the present administration in Osun.
“It is from the above premise that the state government was taken aback by the allegations from the coalition of civil society groups.
“We urge the public to take note that the Governor will not be involved in anything against the law, due process and constitution of the Republic of Nigeria.”
Speculations have been rife in some quarters that the state government had perfected plans to use the Osun State House of Assembly to gag the state judiciary and subsequently dismiss Justice Ojo, the Chief Judge of the state.
Also, in a bid to diffuse the tension, the state governor announced the approval of the payment of arrears of salaries for retired judges in the state.
In a statement signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the government also expressed readiness to collaborate with, provide maximum support to both serving and retired judges.
The governor through the statement also apologised for the alleged neglect of serving and retired judges in the state by previous administrations.
