The Presidency has finally spoken on the pressure mounted by some people on the need to confirm Justice M.S. Dongban-Mensem as the President of the Court of Appeal.
Many have expressed worries that the President’s decision not to confirm the appointment might be because she is not a northerner as she hails from Plateau State.
One of the latest stringent voices in this respect is that of a former military governor of Kano State, Abubakar Umar.
But reacting on Sunday, the Presidency, according to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Malam Garba She, the time is not ripe for President Muhammadu Buhari to do so.
“The Presidency In the specific case of the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Her Lordship Justice M.S. Dongban-Mensem, the statutory regulatory time of her acting period has not lapsed,” the statement said.
he Presidency stressed that President Buhari was not a rubber stamp, who would mechanistically sign off on nominees that come before him while making appointments on the recommendations of other arms or agencies of government.
The presidential aide was reacting to views being expressed in some quarters on pending appointments in the nation’s judicial arm of government.
According to Shehu, the president has a duty to ensure that such appointments meet the requirements of the constitution in protecting the supreme law of the land.
He added that the president had an obligation to allow law enforcement and security agencies to do their work.
“Don’t forget our recent experience with ministers who were signed off upon and turned out as having not undertaken the compulsory National Youth Service, just to give you an example.
“In the specific case of the Acting President of the Court of Appeal, Her Lordship Justice M.S. Dongban-Mensem, the statutory regulatory time of her acting period has not lapsed.
“This is not about ethnicity or religion. It is about security and law enforcement agencies being allowed to complete their work. Nobody should seek to stampede the president in carrying out his constitutional duty in this respect.
“The president had not been a rubber stamp dealing with these matters before and is not prepared to be one at this time.
“Let all allow the system to do what is right,’’ he said.
