President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he could not be forced to appoint a Court of Appeal President without looking at the merits and qualifications of the nominees before him.
He was reacting to insinuations that he was being biased and nepotistic in picking his final choice for the position.
A statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Sunday, said that the President would not be a rubber stamp in taking executive decisions.
The statement reads: “In Making Judicial and other Appointments, President Buhari is not a Rubber Stamp.
“In making appointments upon the recommendations of other arms or agencies of the government, the President is not a rubber stamp that will mechanistically sign off on nominees that come before him.
“The President has a duty to ensure that all such appointments meet the requirements of the constitution and in protecting the supreme law of the land in this regard, he has 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 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.”
