President Bola Tinubu is expected to return to the country today, August 22, after a brief trip to France.
The President’s hurried return is to enable him to preside over the inauguration of Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on Friday.
According to Presidency sources, President Tinubu considers the swearing-in of Justice Kekere-Ekun as a historic responsibility and a constitutional duty.
The National Judicial Council last week recommended Justice Kekere-Ekun to succeed Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who is expected to formally bow out today.
Justice Kekere-Ekun started her career as a judge in Lagos and later became a Supreme Court Justice in Nigeria in 2013.
She worked her way up from being a magistrate to a High Court Judge, and then served as the head of a tribunal dealing with robbery and firearms cases. In 2004, she became a judge in the Court of Appeal.
President Tinubu left Abuja for Paris on Monday using a new Airbus A330 instead of the 19-year-old Boeing B737-700(BBJ) that was bought when President Olusegun Obasanjo was in office.