‘Onnoghen’s Suspension, Unconstitutional, Violation Of Rule Of Law’

A renowned legal luminary, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Barrister Raymond Anyanwata, has condemned in its entirety the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen by Presient Muhammadu Buhari, saying that the action is unconstitutional and a violation of the rule of law as it lacks due process.
Barrister Anyanwata who bared his mind during an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt at the weekend disclosed that the matter as it concerns the CJN Onnoghen is in court and that there is an order restraining the Federal Government and Buhari from tampering with his (Onnoghen’s) appointment.
“The matter is before the Code of Conduct Trial (CCT), so Buhari and the Federal government ought to obey the court order”, he stressed, urging the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the Bench, the cicil society and Nigerians at large to rise up and defend the rule of law.
“They should defend the rule of law and constitutional democracy. The president should respect the doctrine of judicial powers and not to toil with the judiciary and the laws of the land”.
According to Anyanwata, “what Buhari is exhibiting amounts to allowing a state of anarchy and dictatorship in a civilian democratic set up which would not augur well for the country” and called on the Nigerian masses including those in the Diaspora to rise to the occasion by prevailing on the federal government to observe the rule of law and obey court orders.
He noted that what the present federal government was doing portend great danger to the country at large and to the forthcoming 2019 elections and pointed out that a government that did not follow the rule of law and due process was falling on the way side.
Fielding questions on the National minimum wage for workers, the astute lawyer said that the issue was a federal legislation and should be applicable to all federal, state and local government workers.
According to him, “there shouldn’t be any disparity because the federal workers are not working more than the state or local governments workers. They are not doing more job and they go to the same market, so the disparity of N30,000 for federal workers and N27,000 for state and local government workers is uncalled for”.
Anyanwata, therefore, urged the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) and other stakeholders to push harder and ensure that the National Assembly signs N30,000 as the minimum wage for workers across the board into law.
Commending on the 2019 budget, he observed that time was too short for its passage because of the on-coming elections, saying it has to wait for the next National Assembly and charged the people of Rivers State to vote for Governor Nyesom Wike to complete his second tenure as he has worked and done well for the state and for him to consolidate his work.

Shedie Okpara