Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade Monday swore in Justice Eyo Effiom Ita as the state’s new acting Chief Judge.
The event which took place at the state executive council chamber of the Governor’s Office, Calabar was witnessed by the deputy governor, Prof Ivara Esu, the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Eteng Jones, senior lawyers and judges as well as the chairman of the state branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr Paul Ebiala amongst others.
The governor said the swearing in ceremony was in keeping with “the obligations and provisions of the constitution, particularly with reference to section 217 of the Constitution.”
He apologised to the people of the state and lawyers for the delay in the appointment of a new chief judge, saying the state was waiting for communication from the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The governor disclosed that the ceremony was taking place because the NJC had Wednesday last week taken a decision “that the next in ranking be appointed as Acting Chief Judge.”
Ayade said his administration was a law-abiding one that “believes in the freedom of the Judiciary and believes that NJC is a watchdog that ensures that the judiciary is absolutely free.