President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday assented to Executive Order 10 of 2020 which grants financial autonomy to state legislatures and the judiciary.
The attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami disclosed this in a statement by his special assistant on media and public relations, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu.
The order makes it mandatory that all states of the federation should include the allocations of both the legislature and the judiciary in the first-line charge of their budgets.
It mandates the accountant general of the federation to deduct at source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.
“The President signed the Executive Order number 10 into law 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 accountant general of the federation shall, by the Order and such any other 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 (as amended).”
“Based on the Order, all states of the federation shall include the allocations of the two arms of government in their appropriation laws,” the Order states.
Article 6 (1) provides that: “Notwithstanding the provisions of this Executive Order, in the first three years of its implementation, there shall be special extraordinary capital allocations for the Judiciary to undertake capital development of State Judiciary Complexes, High Court Complexes, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal and Court Complexes of other Courts befitting the status of a Courts.”
Malami also said “A Presidential Implementation Committee was constituted to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in compliance with section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended).”
He said consideration was given to all other applicable laws, instruments, conventions and regulations that provide for financial autonomy at the states.
Malami maintained that the implementation of financial autonomy of the state legislature and state judiciary would strengthen the institutions at the states and make them more independent and accountable in line with the tenets of democracy as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.
