ACN urges N’Assembly to intervene in Salami’s suspension

Action Congress of Nigeria has called on the National Assembly to prevail on President Goodluck Jonathan to recall the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami.

The party urged the lawmakers to “rise above partisanship and stand on the side of constitutionality” by ordering Salami’s recall in line with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.

Salami was suspended in August 2011 after his face-off with former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu.

In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said by continuing to disregard the recommendation of the NJC, Jonathan “is sending a bad signal to the entire world that the rule of law has been supplanted by the rule of the jungle in Nigeria and it is clear that such a country can never be an investor’s destination”.

The party added that this had also “contributed in no small measure to Nigeria being classed among the most corrupt nations on earth”.

It drew the attention of the National Assembly to the fact that the President’s handling of Salami’s issue “has destroyed the principle of separation of powers as enshrined in our Constitution; reduced the NJC to an appendage of the executive arm of government and made an imperial President of Goodluck Jonathan in clear violation of the constitution”.

The party said, “The National Assembly should not stand by and allow President Jonathan and some misguided scoundrels in pursuit of personal vendetta to destroy our Judiciary.”