Onnoghen’s suspension is constitutional, says Sagay SAN

The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee against
Corruption, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), has defended the suspension of
the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, who is facing
charges for alleged fraudulent assets declaration.

The Federal Government announced the suspension of the Chief
Justice on Friday, stating that the action followed an order of the
Code of Conduct Tribunal dated January 23, 2019.

It added that the suspension would stand till the conclusion of
his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, swore in Justice Ibrahim
Tanko from Bauchi State as the acting Chief Justice.

Speak on the constitutionality of the suspension, Sagay in a
telephone interview said Buhari was legally empowered to suspend
Onnoghen.

He said, “It is constitutional. If you look at Section 292 of
the constitution, paragraph one clearly makes provision for that
where the Chief Justice is guilty of a code of conduct.

“The provision is very clear. It states that where the Chief
Justice is guilty of a breach of the code of conduct, he can be
removed by an address of two-thirds majority of the Senate. It is
quite clear that the Senate itself cannot initiate that address;
there is only one person who can do that and that is the
President.”

Section 292 (1) of the constitution reads in part, “A judicial
officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before
his age of retirement except in the following circumstances –

“In the case of Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court
of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of
the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Kadi
of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja and President, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja, by the President acting on an address
supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate.”

Budget: FG Denies Alleged Discrepancies in Budget
Proposal
Our attention has been drawn to the allegation by a member of the
House of Representatives during its debate on the 2019 Budget
Proposals yesterday concerning errors and/or discrepancies in the
2019 Appropriations Bill.

Earlier today, officials of the Budget Office of the Federation
met with the Secretariat of the House Appropriations Committee to
review the honourable member’s observations. The outcome of the
review is that there are no errors/discrepancies as alleged by the
honourable member. It is instructive to note that the presentation
format of both the Appropriations Bill and Budget Details for 2019
are consistent with prior years.

Although we are yet to receive any formal communication from the
National Assembly on these observations, we have written a letter
to the House Appropriations Committee Chairman, and are issuing
this statement in view of the wide coverage the observations have
received in the media.

BEN AKABUEZE
DIRECTOR GENERAL
BUDGET OFFICE OF THE FEDERATION