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THE presidency has observed that President Goodluck Jonathan has merely been made a scapegoat by the vocal critics of the suspension of Justice Ayo Salami,
President of the Court of Appeal, at the instance of the National Judicial Council (NJC), saying that his acceptance of the NJC’s recommendation is in the best interest of the country.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, gave this position while briefing State House correspondents on Thursday in Abuja, saying that his earlier statement on the suspension to Nigerians showed clearly that Jonathan acted in accordance with the law.
He also gave a performance report of the administration ahead of its first 100 days in office, noting, among other things, that crude oil production had expanded by 20 per cent, inflation rate had dropped to 9.4 per cent, the nation’s foreign reserves had risen by 10 per cent to about $34billion, while the administration also recovered looted funds amounting to £22.5million.
According to him, “the statement on the suspension of Justice Salami is very clear. It is just a two-paragraph statement and that statement says the action that has been taken is in pursuance of the rule of law. The relevant sections of the law are quoted in that document and it says the president has taken this action until all the matter has been fully resolved.
“But I think in reacting to this development, all kinds of interpretations…people have been making all kinds of judicial pronouncements. Everybody in Nigeria has suddenly become a judge and Mr President is being turned into a scapegoat in a matter in which he is completely innocent,” he stated.
He explained that what the president had done in accepting the recommendation of the NJC and subsequently appointing Justice Adamu Dalhatu to act as the President of the Court of Appeal was simply to prevent a vacuum, as provided for by the law.
Dr Abati added: “The Acting President of Justice of Appeal is there in acting capacity until all the issues involved in this matter have been resolved. The president as leader of the country has the responsibility to ensure stability. If he had not acted, he would have been criticised. He has acted; he is also being criticised.
“But he has acted in the best interest of Nigerians to prevent a constitutional lacuna, a situation whereby the headship of the Court of Appeal becomes vacant and no action is being taken to ensure stability on that level,” he said.
The president’s spokesman explained further that “if the president had decided to withhold the recommendations of the NJC, people who are criticising him now would have accused him of interfering with the work of the judiciary. So the principle of independence has to be respected but at the same time, the president has even provided an opportunity just to stay within the law and to fill that vacuum that has been created.
“It is the duty of the judiciary ultimately within the framework of the law to resolve the matter. The president is not a party to this conflict, as had been described and would be unfair, most unfair to use him as a scapegoat.
“And the surprising thing is that the people who are struggling very hard to drag him into it are not looking at the specific recommendations in the constitution. They are just making judicial pronouncements and dictating to the president what he should do outside the confines of the law and, I believe, they do so strictly for their own partisan interest,” Abati declared.