If anyone says that the press release of the Council of Churches is weak and designed to exonerate the Council from any blame for being silent over such a sensitive issue, I’ll say to that particular person that he/she doesn’t even understands the content of the press release.
The Council of Churches press release is a case of hypocrisy and sycophancy!
The second paragraph of that press release is very misleading and is far apart from the spirit of the Constitution it has purported to support.
The 1991 Constitution reads in Section 137(6): “Where the question of removing a judge of the Superior Court of Judicature (in this case the Auditor General) from office has been referred to a tribunal under subsection (5), the President may suspend the judge from performing the functions of his office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the President, and shall in any case cease to have effect if the tribunal recommends to the President that the Judge shall not be removed from office.”
Having read the Constitution, I’ll bluntly stand my ground to disagree with the position of the Council of Churches as very misleading because no reasonable person who is not partisan would say that an appointment of a tribunal without first reinstating the Auditor General and her deputy is in line with the Constitution.
No, it isn’t.
The said question of suspension has to be first referred to the Tribunal before any suspension takes effect, but the reverse is what the Government has done or it’s now doing!
This is another abuse of presidential power and the press release of the Council of Churches is shying away from the fact and to tell the truth to the Government and asked the Government to first reverse its suspension before the tribunal set to work.
Basita’s resignation has also exposed the ineffectiveness of the JLSC which appointed a tribunal without explaining to the tribunal the alleged accusations it is going to try/address.
This is unfairness and exhibits a case of ploy.
The secrecy that has surrounded the alleged accusations and the function(s) of this special tribunal has sparked a lot of suspicions and controversies that are not good for our fragile democracy.
So if the Council of Churches which is expected to be a serious stakeholder in maintaining peace in the country cannot be bold enough to say the truth, then people should understand why such institutions would not be treated with the respect they purport to command at some given time and situation they’ll want to be hearken to.
I repeat to those who say that the Council of Churches press release weakly condemns the Government, NO, it didn’t at all condemn the Government!
Rather, the press release plays in line with the Government to pacify the anger of the people about the unprecedented suspension, whilst the Government is executing its plan and at the same time silent the critics of this constitutional abuse of power by the President.
The second paragraph didn’t condemn government anywhere in that press release.
Instead they are deliberately pacifying people not to be angry and are misleading the public that the government has acted in line with the Constitution.
This is misleading because the Government acted contrary to the Constitution!
This is so because the Constitution states that the suspension must only come when the tribunal is constituted.
The question is ‘Was that what happened?’ A big NO!
But yet the misplaced press release of the so called Council of Churches wants us to believe that the appointment of the TRIBUNAL is per the dictates of the Constitution.
And even when earlier in the day, Lawyer Basita Michael’s resignation has already exposed the wrongful nature of the said TRIBUNAL, the said press release ignored the clarion call of early warning signs of abuse in the setting up of the said tribunal!
The Judicial Legal Service Commission (JLSC) is violating its own very rules by failing to state the offenses which the Auditor General and her deputy Mr Tamba Momoh had committed.
The failure to show the offenses committed by the JLSC explains the situation of a Trial by Armbush.
WAM!
Eagle’s Eye
