Abuja – President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Ariwoola will be sworn -in at the Executive Chambers of the State House, Abuja.
His brother-Justices are expected to be present at the ceremony.
Ariwoola, the most senior of the Supreme Court Justices, succeeds Justice Muhammad Tanko who suddenly resigned Monday morning, allegedly on health grounds.
However, speculations are rife that he resigned over the vote
of no confidence passed on him, almost, in a letter addressed to him, by 14 Justices of the Supreme Court who accused him,indirectly of alleged corruption, incompetence and maladministration.
Tanko, strongly, denied the allegations.
Born on August 22, 1958, Ariwoola was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011.
He would act for three months, during which time Buhari is expected to forward his name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Media Aide to Tanko, Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, said Ariwoola would be sworn into office Monday afternoon.
Justice Olukayode Ariwoola was born in Iseyin, Oyo State, on August 22, 1954.
He obtained degree in law (LL.B) from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).
Prior to becoming a Justice of the Supreme Court, Ariwoola was appointed a judge of the Oyo State High Court in 1992 and later made a Justice of the Court of Appeal in November 2005.
On November 22, 2011, he was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as Justice.
He is a Member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association, and the Nigerian Body of Benchers.