36 governors for judicial autonomy - Fayemi

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday said that all the 36 governors were in support of judicial autonomy.

Fayemi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said judicial reform remained the engine room of any democracy, adding that necessary reforms must be undertaken in the judiciary to promote the rule of law.

He spoke yesterday while playing host to the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) President-Elect, Mr. Olumide Akpata, at his office in Ado Ekiti.

The governor explained that he had led a delegation on behalf of the forum to meet with the Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Ibrahim Tanko Mohammad, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem to reach a common front on the modality for the implementation of judicial autonomy across the states of the federation.

“One thing that is a priority to us in the Nigeria Governors Forum is judicial autonomy. All governors in Nigeria are for judicial autonomy, but the contention had always been the modality for implementation.

“I have met with the CJN and President of the Court of Appeal working out the modalities for implementation to be in such a way that will be mutually beneficial. We consider judicial autonomy a critical component of our democratic growth and we must ensure that it happens,” he said.

According to Fayemi, Ekiti has been a vanguard in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV), which it considered a huge crime against humanity.

He said said the NGF was putting machinery in motion to bring all the governors into the fray in this regard.