President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to confirm Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), following her nomination by the National Judicial Council (NJC), Okay.ng reports.
The request was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Tuesday’s plenary session. In the letter, President Tinubu cited Section 231(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, which grants him the authority to appoint the CJN, pending Senate approval, based on NJC recommendations.
“I hereby forward the nomination of Honourable Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, CON, for confirmation as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. I trust that this request will receive the Senate’s prompt consideration and approval,” Tinubu stated.
The Senate President has referred the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for further deliberation during the next legislative sitting.
Justice Kekere-Ekun, 66, has been serving as the Acting CJN since the retirement of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola last month. In August, the NJC recommended her as the next CJN.
Kekere-Ekun is the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and the second female jurist to hold the position.
The first woman to serve as CJN was Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, who held the office from July 2012 to November 2014.
Born on May 7, 1958, in London, UK, Kekere-Ekun’s legal career began at the University of Lagos, where she obtained her law degree in 1980. She was called to the Nigerian Bar on July 10, 1981, after completing her training at the Nigerian Law School.
