Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Monday joined the leadership of the state judiciary to dedicate the Justice Ademola Ajakaye High Court complex to mark the commencement of judicial activities within the new edifice.

The complex which was commissioned by former Governor Ayo Fayose in May 2018, was however not put to use by the Judiciary because of some structural defects.

Governor Fayemi, however, promised to construct an annex which would cater for the deficiencies, including a library facility that is missing in the new structure.

The Governor who commended the former governor for putting up the structure recalled that his first administration had plans to build a more elaborate court complex that would enable all the Judges and Magistrates perform their duties with ease. He added that the Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola and some members of the Bench in the state had undertaken an assessment tour of similar facilities both within and outside the country to determine what would suit Ekiti Judiciary until the tenure of that administration lapsed.

Governor Fayemi said at the occasion: “This court has an interesting history because man proposes God disposes. I recall during that first missionary journey, there was an elaborate plan for a High court building and the Chief Judge, his brother and sister judges as well as members of my administration extensively debated the proposed complex.

“They also went out of Ekiti to examine similar buildings even outside the country. The plan was a bit more elaborate than what we have now but we thank God that we have this building and it is ready for occupation. Maybe the annex would incorporate many of those things that are contained in the original structure proposed that are not here and I promised my lord that we will put in place in due course.

“The most important thing is that the building is ready and we must commend our past governor and his government for putting this edifice up for the State Judiciary. Now that the building is there and ready for use, I know that we certainly do not have seven judges in Ekiti. We have at the moment eleven. I believe in the course of our administration, we shall attend to these additional requirements by God’s grace. What is important is to ensure that the ordinary citizens in our state don’t have problems accessing justice both in the physical structure and the capacity of our judicial officers to dispense justice.”

In his dedication speech, the Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, explained that the Judiciary was confronted with a lot of challenges which prevented it from making use of the complex since it was commissioned by former governor Ayo Fayose last year.

The Chief Judge added that he did not hate the former governor for publicly saying that the High Court complex was “a hybrid of absurdity” but he spoke the truth because he knew that the structure could not “properly and comfortably function as court house as it was not designed for that purpose nor was it designed for administrative purposes”.

He said the defects was why the court complex was left unused until Fayemi came on board as governor and a call was made to the governor to “rescue in reconstructing the interior of the new building to enable us put it into appropriate use”.

“I want to sincerely thank our Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who heeded our clarion call; to come to our aid in redesigning the interior of the building to enable us put it to proper use. Your Excellency has done what some others in your position would not do. I salute your benevolence good heart. Your administration has expended huge funds on this project without any paternalistic attachment to taking glory for your contributions to the new High Court project.

“My appeal to Your Excellency becomes necessary because this court was not built with the general staff in mind. From conception and execution, it was meant to house seven Judges of the High Court and their court and personal staff. The interior design that your administration carried out has enabled us to bring in just about half of the general staff,” Justice Daramola said.

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