Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Monday, administered the oath of allegiance and judicial oath on the newly-appointed President, Oyo State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Tajudeen Abdulganiyu, at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi in Ibadan, the state capital.
Makinde also reaffirmed his administration’s continued commitment to working with and supporting the judiciary and legislative arms.
The governor maintained that this would help the government to maintain a functional system, noting that his administration has, in the past five years, maintained a cordial relationship with the judiciary.
He said the appointment of Justice Abdulganiyu followed due process and due recommendations without political, religious or ethnic colorations, saying, “He is a Muslim. He is also not from Ibadan; he is from Igbeti. But we don’t care here in this state. We follow due process. Here, we do what is right.
“The emergence of Justice Abdulganiyu followed due process. He was recommended to the NJC as President of the Customary Court of Appeal and he was duly confirmed. So, we didn’t short-circuit the process.
“We are keeping with our usual practice. We will give him all the support due to his office and our administration has had a cordial relationship with the Judiciary in the past five years.”
Makinde used the occasion to advise the youths to pursue their dreams and not allow distractions in their journey of life so that they can achieve greatness.
“My message for the younger generation is, don’t think you need to make quick money in life. For you to achieve something that will endure, it will take time and the process is usually very competitive,” the governor stated.
Speaking with newsmen after the swearing-in ceremony, Justice Abdulganiyu promised to promote the customary laws, as they are also enforceable and not inferior to English laws.
He equally assured the people of the state that he would bring the functionality of the Customary Court into more practice, noting that it is an inheritance that must not go into extinction.
The dignitaries at the event were the state Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal; Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin; Chief Judge of the state, Justice Iyabo Yerima; Secretary to the State Government, Olanike Adeyemo, among others.