Govs Await Buhari’s Return to Resolve State Judiciaries’ Financial Autonomy Logjam

•Submit technical report to president’s chief of staff
•Rule out going to S’Court
•To meet state speakers, judiciary workers over strike

Governors of the 36 states of the federation are awaiting the
return of President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the logjam over the
implementation of financial autonomy for state judiciaries.

A source confided in THISDAY, Not TheNigerialawyer that while
the governors were eager to resolve the impasse, which triggered
the ongoing strike by judicial workers, they had decided to defer
to the president by waiting for him to return from his medical trip
to Britain before taking further action on the matter.

The federal government and states have been locked in a war of
attrition over the implementation of financial autonomy for state
judiciaries.

Although Section 81 (3) and Section 121 (3) of the 1999
Constitution (as amended), grant financial autonomy to federal and
state judiciaries, governors have largely ignored the
provision.

This has elicited a campaign to free the judiciary in each state
from governors’ control, prompting Buhari to go the extra mile by
signing Executive Order 10, which mandates governors to put the
judiciary and the legislature on the first line charge.

However, the governors, who described the executive order as
full of inconsistencies and unconstitutional, impressed it on the
president to defer its gazetting to allow for talks to resolve the
knotty issues on granting financial autonomy to state judiciaries
and legislatures.

In another bid to push the enforcement of the financial autonomy
policy, the judicial workers and a former President, Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, had filed suits in court to
challenge the governors’ reluctance to implement the policy.

The courts, in the cases of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria Vs
National Judicial Council (NJC) and Governors of the 36 states in
Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/667/13; Olisa Agbakoba Vs Federal Government of
Nigeria, NJC and the National Assembly in suit No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/63/2013; and Olisa Agbakoba Vs Attorney General of Ekiti
State and two Others in Suit No. NAD/56/2013, upheld the arguments
for financial autonomy for state judiciaries.

But following the failure of the states to implement the
financial autonomy, the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has
since shut down the courts and embarked on a strike.

The source said the governors were still trying to reach a
consensus over the enforcement of the order.

He said the governors had planned to approach the Supreme Court
to interpret certain provisions of the order but later shelved the
plan in order not to embarrass the federal government.

According to him, a technical report containing the position of
the governors has been submitted to the Chief of Staff to the
President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, while they await the return of
the president from the foreign medical trip for a final resolution
of the issue.

He confirmed that the governors will meet today with the
striking judicial workers to find a way of ending the strike.

He said the governors would want a consensus approach to the
implementation of the executive order to avoid embarrassing the
government.

According to him, the governors decided to adopt the approach of
negotiation with the federal government so as not to embarrass
federal government at the Supreme Court, adding that certain
provisions of the executive order were unconstitutional and
inconsistent.

“The Executive Order 10 is full of inconsistencies,
contradictions and unconstitutional in nature. We set up a
committee. The committee is headed by the Solicitor-General of the
Federation. The minister of finance is a member with some governors
as members.

“We are almost reaching a consensus on the implementation. We
don’t want to embarrass the federal government because of the
unconstitutional nature of some of the clauses of the Executive
Order 10,” the source said.

Highlighting the unconstitutionality of the Executive Order 10,
the source said: “For instance, the order mandated the
Attorney-General of the Federation to deduct the money from the
source, but the Attorney-General has no such powers bestowed on him
by the constitution. The powers to make such deductions are vested
in the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“So, under the circumstances, there are some issues that have to
be sorted out before a total compliance and implementation,” the
source added.

He explained that the governors, operating under the umbrella of
the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), decided not to challenge the
order in the court so as not to overheat the polity.

Speaking with journalists at the instance of the Chairman of the
NGF and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Governor of
Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong, said yesterday that the governors
would meet today with all the speakers of state Houses of Assembly,
leaders of judicial workers and other stakeholders on how to end
the week-long strike.

The meeting is expected to take place in Abuja.

Lalong said in Abuja that the stance of the governors was that
the federal government was not in a position to dictate ways of
implementing the executive order to any state.

Lalong stated: “The court did not make any pronouncement on
Order 10. The court said there is a law on financial autonomy and
Order 10 and financial autonomy law is different because Order 10
is not law but financial autonomy is the law.

“Now, the implementation of the financial autonomy was what,
according to them, led to the enactment of Order 10.

“So people don’t understand what Order 10 is. It is talking
about implementation, but for us governors, we are saying ‘no,’ we
are going to do implementation; we don’t need any proposals to do
the implementation.

“So, we are only working on the law of implementation because we
don’t need any Order 10 to force us to do the implementation and
the federal government cannot force us to implement.

“People don’t understand; people have not even read what Order
10 is all about; people don’t know the difference between Order 10
and the law on financial autonomy. When we are having a meeting,
what we are going to conclude tomorrow is about financial autonomy.
It’s not about Order 10.

“Order 10, of course, the subject is now in court, but we are
not bothered about that. Instead, we are talking about the
implementation of financial autonomy. I was a speaker. I started
today and as a governor, and I knew how the governors agreed and
brought in financial autonomy.

“It was a law, agreed by the governors and governors said go and
pass it.”

Lalong added that he would want the judiciary to be autonomous
for the purpose of strengthening the institution.

According to him, people are thinking about money, but the issue
is not about money, but for the institutions to be
strengthened.

He defended the governors, saying that no governor is dragging
his foot.

“We were not consulted when we saw a law passed and the order
came. So, when you are talking about implementation; you are
talking about processes, you don’t wake up because a law is
passed,” he stated.

He stated that there would be processes and procedures before
the financial autonomy policy would be implemented.

He explained: “There must be processes. For instance, as a
speaker, I will tell you that you cannot do financial autonomy
until you have a service commission. You must have a service
commission.

“You must establish a service commission, you must establish a
state allocation committee and all these aspects towards autonomy
and we did it for the National Assembly, and there was no other
time for implementation.

“It took them stages. The federal government is aware, members
of the National Assembly – there are governors among them today. I
can just say that we have two people on the last seven governors
who are members of the National Assembly, who fought for autonomy
and got it for National Assembly.”

According to him, the governors and other stakeholders are on
the same page on how to ensure financial autonomy.

•Submit technical report to president’s chief of staff
•Rule out going to S’Court
•To meet state speakers, judiciary workers over strike

Governors of the 36 states of the federation are awaiting the
return of President Muhammadu Buhari to resolve the logjam over the
implementation of financial autonomy for state judiciaries.

A source confided in THISDAY, Not TheNigerialawyer that while
the governors were eager to resolve the impasse, which triggered
the ongoing strike by judicial workers, they had decided to defer
to the president by waiting for him to return from his medical trip
to Britain before taking further action on the matter.

The federal government and states have been locked in a war of
attrition over the implementation of financial autonomy for state
judiciaries.

Although Section 81 (3) and Section 121 (3) of the 1999
Constitution (as amended), grant financial autonomy to federal and
state judiciaries, governors have largely ignored the
provision.

This has elicited a campaign to free the judiciary in each state
from governors’ control, prompting Buhari to go the extra mile by
signing Executive Order 10, which mandates governors to put the
judiciary and the legislature on the first line charge.

However, the governors, who described the executive order as
full of inconsistencies and unconstitutional, impressed it on the
president to defer its gazetting to allow for talks to resolve the
knotty issues on granting financial autonomy to state judiciaries
and legislatures.

In another bid to push the enforcement of the financial autonomy
policy, the judicial workers and a former President, Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, had filed suits in court to
challenge the governors’ reluctance to implement the policy.

The courts, in the cases of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria Vs
National Judicial Council (NJC) and Governors of the 36 states in
Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/667/13; Olisa Agbakoba Vs Federal Government of
Nigeria, NJC and the National Assembly in suit No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/63/2013; and Olisa Agbakoba Vs Attorney General of Ekiti
State and two Others in Suit No. NAD/56/2013, upheld the arguments
for financial autonomy for state judiciaries.

But following the failure of the states to implement the
financial autonomy, the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has
since shut down the courts and embarked on a strike.

The source said the governors were still trying to reach a
consensus over the enforcement of the order.

He said the governors had planned to approach the Supreme Court
to interpret certain provisions of the order but later shelved the
plan in order not to embarrass the federal government.

According to him, a technical report containing the position of
the governors has been submitted to the Chief of Staff to the
President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, while they await the return of
the president from the foreign medical trip for a final resolution
of the issue.

He confirmed that the governors will meet today with the
striking judicial workers to find a way of ending the strike.

He said the governors would want a consensus approach to the
implementation of the executive order to avoid embarrassing the
government.

According to him, the governors decided to adopt the approach of
negotiation with the federal government so as not to embarrass
federal government at the Supreme Court, adding that certain
provisions of the executive order were unconstitutional and
inconsistent.

“The Executive Order 10 is full of inconsistencies,
contradictions and unconstitutional in nature. We set up a
committee. The committee is headed by the Solicitor-General of the
Federation. The minister of finance is a member with some governors
as members.

“We are almost reaching a consensus on the implementation. We
don’t want to embarrass the federal government because of the
unconstitutional nature of some of the clauses of the Executive
Order 10,” the source said.

Highlighting the unconstitutionality of the Executive Order 10,
the source said: “For instance, the order mandated the
Attorney-General of the Federation to deduct the money from the
source, but the Attorney-General has no such powers bestowed on him
by the constitution. The powers to make such deductions are vested
in the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“So, under the circumstances, there are some issues that have to
be sorted out before a total compliance and implementation,” the
source added.

He explained that the governors, operating under the umbrella of
the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), decided not to challenge the
order in the court so as not to overheat the polity.

Speaking with journalists at the instance of the Chairman of the
NGF and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Governor of
Plateau State, Mr. Simon Lalong, said yesterday that the governors
would meet today with all the speakers of state Houses of Assembly,
leaders of judicial workers and other stakeholders on how to end
the week-long strike.

The meeting is expected to take place in Abuja.

Lalong said in Abuja that the stance of the governors was that
the federal government was not in a position to dictate ways of
implementing the executive order to any state.

Lalong stated: “The court did not make any pronouncement on
Order 10. The court said there is a law on financial autonomy and
Order 10 and financial autonomy law is different because Order 10
is not law but financial autonomy is the law.

“Now, the implementation of the financial autonomy was what,
according to them, led to the enactment of Order 10.

“So people don’t understand what Order 10 is. It is talking
about implementation, but for us governors, we are saying ‘no,’ we
are going to do implementation; we don’t need any proposals to do
the implementation.

“So, we are only working on the law of implementation because we
don’t need any Order 10 to force us to do the implementation and
the federal government cannot force us to implement.

“People don’t understand; people have not even read what Order
10 is all about; people don’t know the difference between Order 10
and the law on financial autonomy. When we are having a meeting,
what we are going to conclude tomorrow is about financial autonomy.
It’s not about Order 10.

“Order 10, of course, the subject is now in court, but we are
not bothered about that. Instead, we are talking about the
implementation of financial autonomy. I was a speaker. I started
today and as a governor, and I knew how the governors agreed and
brought in financial autonomy.

“It was a law, agreed by the governors and governors said go and
pass it.”

Lalong added that he would want the judiciary to be autonomous
for the purpose of strengthening the institution.

According to him, people are thinking about money, but the issue
is not about money, but for the institutions to be
strengthened.

He defended the governors, saying that no governor is dragging
his foot.

“We were not consulted when we saw a law passed and the order
came. So, when you are talking about implementation; you are
talking about processes, you don’t wake up because a law is
passed,” he stated.

He stated that there would be processes and procedures before
the financial autonomy policy would be implemented.

He explained: “There must be processes. For instance, as a
speaker, I will tell you that you cannot do financial autonomy
until you have a service commission. You must have a service
commission.

“You must establish a service commission, you must establish a
state allocation committee and all these aspects towards autonomy
and we did it for the National Assembly, and there was no other
time for implementation.

“It took them stages. The federal government is aware, members
of the National Assembly – there are governors among them today. I
can just say that we have two people on the last seven governors
who are members of the National Assembly, who fought for autonomy
and got it for National Assembly.”

According to him, the governors and other stakeholders are on
the same page on how to ensure financial autonomy.