Timi Frank, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress(APC) has alleged that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Tanko Muhammad, is secretly consulting with the Presidency ahead of setting up of the Supreme Court panel to hear the appeal by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar challenging the earlier ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which declared President Muhammadu Buhari winner of the 2019 election.
Frank urged the CJN to stop unnecessary delay in constituting a panel to determine Atiku’s case based on the tradition of seniority and not “consulting or waiting on the advice of the presidency.”
In a statement made available to DAILY POST in Abuja on Wednesday, the political activist said it amount to injustice for the CJN to delay the constitution of the 7-man panel more than a month after the presidential candidate of the PDP appealed the Presidential Tribunal’s judgement.
“We are reliably informed of an unholy alliance between the CJN and the presidency which is causing the delay in constitution of the panel, such move is dangerous for Nigeria’s democracy.
“The CJN must respect the normal tradition of following the order of seniority in selecting the justices. Even all the times Bubari himself had approached the Supreme Court in the past, order of seniority was followed.The precedent is set contrary to the ongoing shopping for judges who will be favourable to the whims and caprices of General Buhari and the APC.
