Cross River Assembly Confirms Ikpeme As Chief Judge

The Cross River State House of Assembly has finally confirmed Justice Akon Ikpeme as substantive Chief Judge of the state after rejecting her twice.

Naija News reports that Ikpeme was confirmed on Thursday at the state House of Assembly in Calabar following a motion moved by the Leader of the House and representative of Ogoja Constituency, Peter Odey.

Ikpeme confirmation was seconded by Whip, Okon Ephraim, representing Calabar South 1.

The Clerk of the House, Bassey Ekpenyong, had read a letter by Governor Ben Ayade seeking her confirmation as the substantive Chief Judge of the state.

Speaking on Ikpeme’s confirmation, the Speaker, Eteng Williams said, “The Assembly just did its job. We got new facts. We got documents that we needed. We’ve done our own findings.”

Williams added that what Cross River lawmakers had done was to stabilize the judiciary.

It was alleged that the National Judicial Council did not extend the tenure of Justice Eyo Effiom-Ita whose acting period ended on Monday, January 18, 2021, thus setting the stage for Ikpeme’s confirmation.

Justice Akon Ikpeme had served as Acting Chief Judge of the state for three months, followed by Justice Maurice Eneji, who acted for six months while Justice Eyo Effiom-Ita acted for three months.

The National Judicial Council had earlier recommended Justice Ikpeme to be confirmed as Chief Judge of the State following the retirement of Justice Michael Edem in 2019.

However, the State House of Assembly refused to confirm her, saying Justice Ikpeme was an indigene of Akwa Ibom State though married to a Cross Riverman.