The Presidency says there is no going back on its decision to
implement the newly signed Executive Order 10 which grants
financial autonomy to two other arms of government – state
legislature and judiciary, across the 36 states.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger-Delta Affairs
and Secretary of the Presidential Committee on implementation of
Executive Order 10, Senator Ita Enang, reiterated this position in
Abuja at a press briefing during weekend.
The state governors were reported to have insisted on
constitutional provisions in meetings with President Muhammadu
Buhari and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on the
issue, saying the order is not necessary.
But Enang maintained that the order cannot be halted.
He said that the chairman of the committee, Abubakar Malami, and
other members of the committee are working round the clock to
ensure its implementation.
He said “Since that law was not implemented, I mean that
amendment from 2017, 2018, and in 2019, the president considered,
as the head of the federal government of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, to which every member, of who has a duty to protect every
Nigerian and each arm of government at the state and the federal
levels, that it was necessary to set up an implementation committee
to cause implementation.
“The Act was passed in 2017, amending section 121(3) of the
Constitution, allowing for monies to go directly to the legislature
of the state level and judiciary at the state level. Since it was
not implemented”.
He added that “Since the constitution when passed is not
self-executing, then Mr. President has to set out the procedures
for implementation. In efforts to set out the permit procedure for
implementation, Mr President considered it appropriate to set up a
Presidential Implementation Committee on the autonomy of state
judiciary and state legislature,” the top presidential aide
stressed.
Apart from Malami and Enang as the Chairman and the Secretary
respectively, the committee has the Grand Kadi of the Federal
Capital Territory, the Grand Kadi of Gombe State, President of
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Speaker of Lagos State House of
Assembly among others.
The Presidency says there is no going back on its decision to
implement the newly signed Executive Order 10 which grants
financial autonomy to two other arms of government – state
legislature and judiciary, across the 36 states.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger-Delta Affairs
and Secretary of the Presidential Committee on implementation of
Executive Order 10, Senator Ita Enang, reiterated this position in
Abuja at a press briefing during weekend.
The state governors were reported to have insisted on
constitutional provisions in meetings with President Muhammadu
Buhari and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on the
issue, saying the order is not necessary.
But Enang maintained that the order cannot be halted.
He said that the chairman of the committee, Abubakar Malami, and
other members of the committee are working round the clock to
ensure its implementation.
He said “Since that law was not implemented, I mean that
amendment from 2017, 2018, and in 2019, the president considered,
as the head of the federal government of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, to which every member, of who has a duty to protect every
Nigerian and each arm of government at the state and the federal
levels, that it was necessary to set up an implementation committee
to cause implementation.
“The Act was passed in 2017, amending section 121(3) of the
Constitution, allowing for monies to go directly to the legislature
of the state level and judiciary at the state level. Since it was
not implemented”.
He added that “Since the constitution when passed is not
self-executing, then Mr. President has to set out the procedures
for implementation. In efforts to set out the permit procedure for
implementation, Mr President considered it appropriate to set up a
Presidential Implementation Committee on the autonomy of state
judiciary and state legislature,” the top presidential aide
stressed.
Apart from Malami and Enang as the Chairman and the Secretary
respectively, the committee has the Grand Kadi of the Federal
Capital Territory, the Grand Kadi of Gombe State, President of
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Speaker of Lagos State House of
Assembly among others.