By Anayo Okoli

Umuahia – Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, yesterday, swore-in Justice Theresa Uzokwe as acting Chief Judge of the state on account of the non-acceptance of Justice Ijeoma Offonry by the state House of Assembly.

Justice Offonry was last week rejected by Abia State House of Assembly as the Chief Judge of the state, despite her selection by the National Judicial Commis-sion, NJC, as the most senior judge in the state.

Governor Orji, who swore-in Justice Uzokwe at  Government House, Umuahia, called on all stakeholders to work for an end to the impasse.

Between December 2010 and May 2011, Justices Ijeoma Offonry and Nnenna Chioma Oti had served as acting Chief Judge.

According to Governor Orji, the problem of not having a substantive chief judge is created by the constitutional provision which vested collective responsibility of appointing the Chief Judge of a state on State Judicial Service Commission, National Judicial Council, NJC, the governor and House of Assembly.

Orji said: “It is expected that by the end of this tenure, the case of appointing a substantive chief judge would have been resolved.

“It is my fervent hope that the organs responsible for the exercise would do what is required of them to break this logjam.”