Kwara Gov hosts ECOWAS Court delegation to farewell dinner
* Assures judiciary of support
By Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Kwara state Governor AbdukRahman AbdulRazaq has reiterated that his administration would continue to do its best to support the judiciary, while also giving it unfettered freedom to operate without any interference.
AbdulRazaq, who stated this while hosting the delegation of ECOWAS Court of Justice to a dinner, appreciated the court for picking Kwara as the venue for the international engagement in the north central region.
The delegation of the 15-member state ECOWAS Court of Justice arrived Ilorin on Monday for a week-long sensitisation for members of the judiciary in the state on the procedures for engaging services of the Court.
He said: “From the report I have received (from the sensitisation), it has all been good. A lot of information has passed from your side to our side, and we now know a lot more about how to engage the court.
“As you have noticed, the economy of the state has grown tremendously. When this administration was inaugurated two and half years ago we only had one or two airlines coming into the state. Now, we have four airlines and about eight flights to and from Ilorin a day. Kwara is also the safest state in Nigeria. People are relocating here to do their businesses peacefully.
“On our part, we are doing our best to support the judiciary. We also do not interfere in what they do.”
Abdulrazaq said the administration is also implementing many programmes and infrastructural projects to improve the standing of the state and the wellbeing of its people.
Vice President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the team leader, Rt. Hon. Justice Gberi-be Quattara, appreciated the Governor for his patriotic commitments that are transforming the state to a vibrant commercial city.
He said: “The good work that the current Governor, His Excellency AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, is doing to keep the flag flying is highly commendable.
“Of course, the Court is an international court. Nigeria is just privileged to host the Court. It could have been Mali, or Burkina Faso, or any other West African countries. And for that purpose we were quick to take advantage of the location of the Court to sensitize as much as possible the citizens of Nigeria.”
Justice Quattara said the Court would replicate the same session in other geo-political zones of the Country, saying what had been held in Ilorin was for the North Central geopolitical zone.
Kwara state Chief Judge, Justice Durosinlohun Kawu, for his part, affirmed that the Governor does not interfere in the workings of both judiciary and legislature in the state.
He said: “Without mincing words, His Excellency has demonstrated that he is a civilian democrat. He has kept the judiciary apart without any interference in the affairs of the judiciary in the state. I urge you to continue in this respect because whatever we do history will judge us eventually.”
The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Salman Jawondo SAN, for his part, said the mission of the court to Nigeria and in particular Kwara was to sensitise the citizens about the ECOWAS Court’s existence, jurisdictions and its processes.
He said the visit has afforded legal practitioners who attended the sensitisation programme an opportunity to know the way and manner by which to present cases at the Court.