Federal Government Orders Bayelsa Chief Judge To Swear In Wike As Rivers Governor

In a statement by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), The Federal Government yesterday, directed the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State to swear in the governor-elect of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, on May 29 following the impasse that has left Rivers State without a substantive Chief Judge for long. According to the AGF, the order was necessitated by the fact that Rivers State neither has a substantive CJ nor a President of the Customary Court of Appeal.

Adoke said it was regrettable that the existing vacuum in the higher rung of the River State judiciary has made strict compliance with requirements of Section 185(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, under which Wike should have ordinarily been sworn in, virtually impossible.

Adoke said it was owing to the prevailing situation that the FG decided to invoke the provision of section185 (2) of the Constitution, so as to empower the Bayelsa CJ to conduct the governorship swearing-in ceremony in River State on May 29.

The AGF noted that section 185(2) of the constitution provides that;

“The Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office shall be administered by the Chief Judge of the state or Grand Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the state, if any, or President of the Customary Court of Appeal of the state, if any, or the person for the time being respectively appointed to exercise the functions of any of those offices in any state. 

“The general public, particularly the government and people of Rivers State, are hereby invited to take note of this development and appreciate the fact that the invitation extended to the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State to administer the Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office on the governor-elect of Rivers State on May 29, 2015, is in accordance with the constitution and should therefore, be respected by all and sundry.”