Govs Approve Financial Autonomy Template For State Legislature, Judiciary

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The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), has approved a uniform
template for the implementation of the Memorandum of Action on
financial autonomy for State legislatures and judiciary.

The forum disclosed this in a communiqué signed by its Chairman
and Ekiti State Gov. Kayode Fayemi, on Thursday night, in Abuja,
after its 32nd teleconference meeting.

It noted that the template was signed with the Judiciary Staff
Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of
Nigeria (PASUN) to facilitate the implementation of financial
autonomy for the State legislatures and judiciary.

The template was developed following a joint meeting of the
State Attorneys General and the Commissioners of Finance held on
June 25, on the directive of the Forum.

The forum expressed its concern over certain proposed amendments
to the Principal Stamp Duties Act by the Senate.

It noted that the amendment sought to remove the powers to
administer and collect stamp duties from the Federal Inland Revenue
Service or their State counterparts, depending on the nature of the
transaction, to the Nigeria Postal Service.

“The provisions of Section 163 of the 1999 Constitution requires
that Stamp Duties on transactions between a company and an
individual should be paid to the FIRS and returned to the state of
derivation”, the forum noted, as it resolved to engage with the
National Assembly on the matter.

On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the communique stated that
the governors were in full support of the unbundling and
commercialization of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC), but were, however, concerned with the proposed ownership
structure of the NNPC, which was handed to the Federal
Government.

“The NGF recommends that given that the corporation is owned by
the three tiers of government, NNPC Limited, the new incorporated
entity, should be owned by a vehicle that holds the interest of the
three tiers of government.

“For now, the institution that is positioned to carry out this
mandate is the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

“This amendment, as well as the proposed 3 per cent share of oil
revenue to host communities and 30 per cent share of profit for the
exploration of oil and gas in the basins, will be responded to at
relevant channels, including the National Assembly and the National
Economic Council (NEC)”, the forum said.

The forum also stated that it would take a position on the
planned privatization of assets of the Niger Delta Power Holding
Company (NDPHC) as listed by the Bureau for Public Enterprise
(BPE), because it was done without due consultation with state
governments, who are also shareholders of the company.

“ NDPHC is incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters
Act as a private limited liability company with shareholding fully
subscribed to by the federal, state and local governments with a
mandate to manage National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) in the
country”, the forum noted.

The Forum threw its weight behind the launch of the NGF Peace
and Inclusive Security Initiative (PISI) developed to tackle
insecurity, conflicts and violence in the country.

It stated that the launch of PISI on July 8 heralded an
important milestone for the NGF as it sought to build a more
inclusive and collaborative platform to drive an urgent
country-wide response to security challenges in the country.

The communique noted that Fayemi had briefed the governors on
the inauguration of the National Steering Committee (NSC) of the
National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (NPRGS), chaired by
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, with a mandate to lift 100 million
Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

It added that state governors were enjoined to nominate focal
persons, who would consolidate policy strategies put in place by
State governments to end poverty in the country.

The focal persons would be inducted into a Technical Working
Group, chaired by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule,
and co-chaired by the Minister of State for Finance, Budget and
National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, the communique said.

The forum also acknowledged receiving an update from the
Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the recent rise in
confirmed COVID-19 cases and called for consensual action to
prevent a third wave in the country.

“Following the update, the Forum called on all state governors
to revive their COVID-19 protocols and collaborate with the Nigeria
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to take appropriate and immediate
actions to flatten the transmission curve.

“The forum will interface with the Presidential Steering
Committee on COVID-19 to accelerate processes required to fast
track the delivery of additional vaccines for the country.”

It stated that an update on the States’ Fiscal Transparency,
Accountability, and Sustainability – Program-for-Results (PforR)
was also presented at the meeting, in addition to another update on
the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus –
Programme for Results (Nigeria CARES), from Mrs. Firo Elhassan,
NGF’s Programme Manager.

Following the update, the forum resolved to interface with the
Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMBNP)
and the Federal Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to ensure speedy approval
and commencement of the programme, in line with the 2021 budgets of
States.

Another presentation by Princess Miriam Onuoha, Chairman, House
of Representatives, Committee on Disabilities on the adoption of
the Discrimination against Person with Disabilities (Prohibition)
Act (2018) was also received.

Thereafter, the forum expressed its commitment to actively
support, through the NGF Secretariat, the domestication of the
disability law in states where it had not been passed.

Since 2018, at least 12 States had passed disability laws,
including Ekiti, Lagos, Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Jigawa, Ondo, Bauchi,
Anambra, Niger and River State.

The Chief Executive Officer of Suburban Fiber Company, Mr Bruce
Ayonote, also made a presentation to the forum on the Roadmap for
Successful Digital Transformation Execution in States, according to
the communique.

“The proposal, which sought to build both hard and soft digital
infrastructure for State governments, was welcomed by the
governors, who mandated the NGF Secretariat to facilitate the
planning and partnership process with interested state
governments.

“Lastly, the Forum also received a report on the diversification
and non-oil export opportunities for states post-COVID-19 from the
Policy Development Facility (PDF) Bridge Programme.

While welcoming the study, the forum noted that the findings of
the report would help strengthen the diversification agenda of
states.