The Nigerian judiciary would, by December 31, start to experience "an extended arm of the blinking constitutional crisis," some lawyers told NEXT on Sunday.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Idris Kutigi, was sworn into the office in 2007 and will be retiring on December 31, 2009. His replacement, Aloysius Katsina-Alu, was recently confirmed for the position by the National Assembly.Considering the section 231(1) of the 1999 constitution, the Nigerian president, who is the only one constitutionally permitted to swear in the new chief justice. However, he is in Saudi Arabia for medical attention.
"It means a constitutional crisis that cannot even be resolve within the armpit of the constitution," said the president of the West Africa Bar Association (WABA), Femi Falana.
Mr. Yar'Adua would have spent 38 days in Saudi Arabia by December 31, 2009, the day Mr. Kutigi is expected to be replaced by Mr. Katsina-Alu.
A major crisis
The WABA president said unless the president returns or the vice president is sworn in as acting president, there will be a major crisis.
The president "is the only competent authority to do so," he said. "With effect from January 1, 2010, the office of the CJ will be vacant, in addition to the vacancy that currently exists in the post of the president. So we will have nobody in the as the head of the executive and that of the judiciary."
Considering the position of the National Assembly, which is the second arm of the three arm of governance in the country, Mr. Falana said, "if they are going to exercise any power, it has to be between now and the 31st of December. Once they fail to take any necessary step now, since the Federal Executive Council has failed to pass a resolution that the president is incapacitated, the National Assembly of course can remove him, but you know they cannot do that between now and December 31st.
"As a matter of fact, Bankole has adjourned the House to January 12. The only way out is that they have to rush to Saudi Arabia and get a letter, a written declaration from the president to the senate president and the speaker of the House. Once that is done, the VP can then automatically act as the president."
Heating up the polity
A constitutional lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, said the way Mr. Yar'Adua left his office vacant without proper delegation of power is unconstitutional.
He said: "The implication is that we will not have a Chief Justice and that will be a very bad situation for us because, eventually, it means that new cases cannot be taken to some courts. So, cases will suffer long adjournment and that can lead to a sort of self help by the politicians and other aggrieved people. That can heat up the polity, create more crisis, more confusion, create anarchy."
Mr. Aturu however called on the president's cabinet to get to him, wherever he is, and advise themselves to obey the constitution by writing the National Assembly.
Mr Kutigi is the tenth Chief Justice of Nigeria.
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