Presidency: Govs Oppose Autonomy for State Assembly, Judiciary

The Presidential Liaison Officer to the National Assembly,
Senator Solomon Ita Enang, has alleged that some governors have
been showing resistance in implementing the relevant law on
financial autonomy for the affected arms of government.

Addressing the Delegates Conference of the Parliamentary Staff
Association (PASAN) in Abuja, Thursday, the Enang said that though
the autonomy of the state assemblies and the judiciary is complete
with the coming into force of the Fourth Amendment to the 1999
Constitution, its implementation has remained a problem.

He, however assured that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon
sign an executive order to give bite to the implementation of
financial autonomy for State Houses of Assembly and the judiciary.
The new executive order is based on the recommendations of a
committee set up by the president to work out ways of ensuring that
states comply with the existing law on financial autonomy for the
judiciary and state legislature.

The presidential aide however said that as soon as the president
issues an executive order to back the recommendations of the
committee, the team would move to the field to ensure that the
legal provisions on financial autonomy are implemented.

“Now, we have completed our assignment and submitted our
recommendations to Mr. President and we are awaiting the issuance
of an executive order to enable its implementation,” he
explained.

Speaking on what led to the setting up of the committee, Enang
said that the initiative was sequel to the reluctance of state
chief executives to abide by the law on financial autonomy to the
state judiciary and the assembly.

“After the law has been enacted, the governors did not allow its
implementation because some of these governors do not accept that
they are governor under the executive and the judiciary is headed
by the Chief Judge while the assembly is headed by the Speaker. And
they do not want to release money for the judiciary to them and
that of the assembly to the assembly. And so, the president
considered it appropriate to set up an implementation committee for
which I am the Secretary. The committee is headed by the Attorney
General of the Federation and had as member representatives from
state governments, judiciary and the state assembly,” he said.

Enang said that in constituting the committee, President Buhari
made sure that all relevant stakeholders were represented.

According to Enang, the committee was made up of the Attorney
General of the Federation, himself, the chief judge of Bayelsa and
Kogi states representing other state Chief Judges; the conference
of Speakers represented by its chairman; the Speaker of the Lagos
State House of Assembly and his deputy; the Speaker of Taraba State
House of Assembly as well the President of the Parliamentary Staff
Association of Nigeria.

Giving insight on the committee’s recommendations, Enang said
that they recommended that there should be a joint budget committee
in every state to handle the budgetary allocation to the various
arms of government.

He said that the committee also recommended that states should
enact a legislation to back the proposed budgetary system so that
it would become binding.

“The idea here is that the Commissioner of Finance will be a
member; the Accountant General will be a member, and since the
governor and speaker are not to be members, the person to represent
the legislature is the Clerk of the House of Assembly; the Chief
Judge is not a member but will be represented by the Chief
Registrar.

“All the members of the budget committee will sit to approve the
state budget. The governor will not sit to approve the allocation
to the judiciary or to the legislature. The joint budget committee
will decide as to what the state legislature is entitled and what
the judiciary is entitled and they would include that in the budget
and present it to the governor and the governor will in turn take
that and lay it at the state House of Assembly,” Enang
explained.

Enang said under the new proposal, once a budget is passed, both
the judiciary and the state House of Assembly do not need the
permission of the state governor to access their money.

He also stated that in circumstances where there is enough money
to be released for the budget, all the arms of government will draw
funds at parity basis so that if for instance, the executive arm
takes 70 per cent, the judiciary and legislature will also take 70
per cent of their budget.

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