There is a serious need to look into how the Attorney General (AG) is appointed. It was not by accident that the makers of our constitution chose to make the position a constitutional one. They reckoned in my opinion that the role an AG plays is an enormous one. Take for instance the power of a nolle prosequi, it is akin to the authority Christ gave his disciples “whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth is loosened in heaven…” it follows therefore that the position of an AG is not one of those positions that should be seen as a handout to political associates or cronies for a job well done during the electioneering campaigns.
The idea of the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommending to the president who should be appointed the AG is a welcome one. However, it should be a role exercised judicially and judiciously. For instance, the recommendation should not be narrowed down to only one name but to many names say five, from which the president should be able to choose one.
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Furthermore, the AG’s tenure should be fixed and secured as it is the case with the position of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Where a government’s term has expired, an Attorney General’s tenure should be able to overlap into the tenure of an incoming government regardless of the fact that the incoming government is not the appointer. This in my opinion will go a long way in ensuring that an Attorney General does not engage in unhealthy loyalty to the detriment of doing the hallowed job.
Finally, an AG need not be a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). There are a million less than one legal practitioners of repute though not SANs are in my opinion, able and capable to do the job of an AG. Strong character and intelligence should be the major if not only considerations. This is because, the Attorney General should be someone who should have the courage to speak the truth to power and advice the government of the day just like a doctor advices his patient. Without prejudice, amongst several other intelligible lots, names like: Joseph Chu’ma Otteh Esq, Dr Solomon Ukhuegbe Esq, Nasir Tijani Esq come to mind.
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