Governor Makinde Swears in 10 New Judges, Charges Them on Transparency
Written by News Desk on December 5, 2024
The Oyo State Governor, Eng Seyi Makinde has sworn in eight judges of the State High Court and two judges of the Customary Court of Appeal, urging them to carry out their duties with all sense of responsibility and to live up to the expectations of the office they now occupy.
He equally assured that his administration would continue to provide the necessary support to ensure that the judiciary had the right environment in which to perform its duties.
The governor stated this shortly after the Oath of Office and Allegiance and the Judiciary Oath were administered to the newly appointed Judges at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Makinde, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in Ibadan, the state capital, said the process of their appointments was based on merit and without any interference from the Executive.
The governor, who noted that there has been a cordial relationship between the arms of governments in the state and that they had been working together to deliver dividends of democracy to the people of the state in the last five years, said the Judiciary has an important part to play towards the achievement of the administration’s Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027.
He charged the new judges to discharge their duties without fear or favour, noting that the teeming people of the state would be looking up to them to protect their rights and get justice, and they must not be disappointed.
“The three arms of government have been working together to deliver true dividends of democracy to our people. With the appointment of these new judges, we are assured of the further strengthening of the Judiciary.
Earlier, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Iyabo Yerima, charged the newly sworn-in judges, to be honest, steadfast and firm in the discharge of their duties and to be ready to take up the challenge ahead as, according to her, cases have continued to increase in the judiciary’s docket.
Yerima, who commended the current administration for its unprecedented support for the Judiciary, maintained that the appointment of the 10 newly sworn-in judges took the number of judges appointed by the administration to 15 and that the figure is the highest by any administration in the state.
She equally noted that the governor has purchased a total of 38 vehicles for the Judiciary, which is the largest purchase for the Judiciary in the history of the state, adding that each of the 10 new Judges would be assigned new vehicles.
Yerima also lauded the governor for building court infrastructure, including the ongoing High Court buildings in Egbeda and Ona Ara Local Governments, the renovations of High Court Complexes in Ring Road, Iyaganku and Ogbomoso, among others.
The event had in attendance the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; former deputy governor of the state and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Taofeek Arapaja; former deputy governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi; Senator representing Ogun Central, Shuiabu Salisu; Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin; Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu and President, Oyo State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Tajudeen Abdulganiyu.
Also in attendance were former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Monsurat Sumonu; Secretary to the State Government, Olanike Adeyemo; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Head of Service, Olubunmi Oni; representative of the National Judiciary Commission, Yakubu Ismaila, the Olu of Igboora, Oba Jimoh Titiloye, among other dignitaries.
