Kogi State House of Assembly yesterday recommended the removal of the state Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, over alleged gross misconduct.
This followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Public Accounts on the Auditor General’s Report on 2016 Financial Statements.”
The chairman of the committee, Ahmed Mohammed, said the Chief Judge should step aside to defend himself over the alleged indictment by the Auditor-General.
Mohammed said the Public Accounts Committee was set up in line with Section 103 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) at the plenary sitting of the House on Monday 24th December 2018.
The committee according to him, was mandated to investigate reported cases of financial breaches, noncompliance with financial regulations and poor handling of financial records by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state government.
He said that Kogi State Judiciary was said to have during the year ended December 2016, expended its budget above the approved limits provided in some sub heads as contained in the 2016 Appropriation Law to the tune of N7,574, 850 without the approval of virement application.
The committee also recommended that the Chief Registrar should be referred to the state Judicial Service Commission for disciplinary action and that the state government should commence immediate payment of judicial staff salaries.
Reacting in a statement by its spokesman, Saqeeb Saeed, the state judiiary said the matter was before the National Judicial Council and that there was a subsisting court order restraining Governor Bello from removing the CJ.
Saeed called on workers of the judiciary to remain calm, saying the rule of law shall prevail in the end.
