The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has suggested the reason critics claimed the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola secretly met with the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

Ariwoola was reported to have met Tinubu in London while disguising on a wheelchair.

However, Keyamo said the real reason behind the story was to get the CJN to recuse himself during election cases at the Supreme Court.

In a series of tweets, Keyamo accused those behind the story of trying to blackmail the judiciary.

He wrote: “The card they are playing with the fake CJN story is to raise so much dust about the CJN, albeit unfounded and fake, so that when they get to the Supreme Court.

“They will ask him to recuse himself; they want to play the ethnic card up to the S/Court. It is absolutely condemnable!

“After attempting to blackmail & intimidate voters, they failed; then they tried to blackmail & intimidate INEC, they failed; now they want to blackmail and intimidate the judiciary.

“Yet, such despicable characters actually aspire to lead this country. It is sad. Very sad indeed!”