Leke Baiyewu, Abuja
Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has stated that all the governors have given their backing to financial autonomy for state legislatures and judiciary.
Tambuwal made this known after leading the Chairman of States Legislators Conference to meet with the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A statement quoted the governor as saying that modalities for the implementation of the financial autonomy would be finalised on Thursday next week.
The statement was titled ‘Govs Are in Support of Financial Autonomy for State Legislature, Judiciary – Tambuwal…As Govs Meet Next Week to Finalise Modalities for Implementation, Abuja.’
Tambuwal was said to have been accompanied by Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau state, who was once a speaker of the state’s House of Assembly; and Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State.
Speaking to after the meeting on why the delegation was at the State House,
Tambuwal, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, while speaking to State House correspondents, said the meeting was on the instruction of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
He said, “We are here to meet the Chief of Staff on the instruction of Mr President and you can see that the leadership of the Speakers’ Conference of the States of the Federation is here ably led by the Chairman. It is all about (Executive) Order 10, which has to do with the independence, financial autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary at the state level.
“So, it is a continuous meeting and we are going to meet next week Thursday when we hope to finalise on the framework and modalities of implementing the autonomy of the state legislature and the judicial.”
Speaking on the allegation that governors are frustrating efforts to grant financial autonomy to state legislatures and judiciary, Tambuwal argued that the governors were in support of financial autonomy for the state lawmakers and that there was no impediment towards the implementation of the President’s Executive Order.
“By next week Thursday we will be meeting to finalise the framework. We are all in support of it by the grace of God,” he said.
In response to a question on states that have yet to pay the new National Minimum Wage of N30,000, the governor said, “Well, our Chairman (Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum) and the team of governors’ forum are meeting with the labour. I don’t want to pre-empt that meeting please. The business of governors is to ensure that there is harmony in the country.”
The statement recalled that Buhari had on May 23, 2020, signed an Executive Order which grants the legislature and judiciary financial independent from the executive in the States.
The President carried out the action based on the power vested in him as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under Section 5 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended), which extends to the execution and maintenance of the Constitution, laws made by the National Assembly (including but not limited to Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended), which guarantee financial autonomy of the state legislature and state judiciary.
The new Executive Order provides that, “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall by this order and any other such orders, regulations or guidelines as may be issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, authorise the deduction from source in the course of Federation Accounts Allocation from the money allocated to any state of the federation that fails to release allocation meant for the state legislature and state judiciary in line with the financial autonomy guaranteed by Section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.”
