PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has submitted a letter to the Senate requesting the confirmation of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).
During a plenary session today, Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter.
In his correspondence, Tinubu referenced Section 231(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which grants him the authority to appoint the CJN based on recommendations from the National Judicial Council, subject to Senate confirmation.
The President expressed his confidence in her nomination and urged the Senate to act swiftly.
“I hereby submit the nomination of Honourable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, CON, for confirmation as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. I trust that this request will be promptly considered and approved by the Senate,” Tinubu wrote to the lawmakers.
Senate President Akpabio has referred the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for discussion at the next legislative sitting.
In August, the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended Justice Kekere-Ekun to President Tinubu as the successor to the former CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
The 66-year-old judge has been serving as the Acting CJN since Justice Ariwoola’s retirement last month.
Kekere-Ekun will become the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and the second female jurist to hold this position, following Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who served as CJN from July 2012 to November 2014.
Born on May 7, 1958, in London, United Kingdom, Kekere-Ekun began her legal education at the University of Lagos, where she earned her first degree in law in 1980. After completing her studies at the Nigerian Law School, she was called to the Nigerian Bar on July 10, 1981.