Juliana TaiwoObalonye, Abuja and Joe Effiong, Uyo

GOVERNORS of the 36 states of the federation, under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF),
will meet today to deliberate on Executive Order 10, 2020, signed by President
Muhammadu Buhari last week, which grants financial autonomy to states’
judiciary and legislature. Head of media and public affairs for the NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the meeting would be the ninth in a series of teleconferences by the governors since the outbreak of COVID-19.
President Buhari, had, on Friday, May 22, signed into law Executive Order 10 granting financial
autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary at all levels across the 36 states.
The order makes it compulsory for states to grant financial autonomy as it
mandates the AccountantGeneral of the Federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from monthly allocations to each state. The move is targeted at making such
funds available to legislatures and judiciaries in states that refuse to grant
them autonomy. The order has caused mixed reactions across the country with some
groups commending the President for bringing to
bear the intention of the drafters of the Constitution, while others have risen against it.
According to BelloBarkindo, the meeting will take place at 2pm, with all 36 states governors in attendance brainstorming via Microsoft Team from their various states.
“Among the issues to be reviewed are a number of critical national questions that revolve around the
financial autonomy for the states’ judiciary and legislature, code-named the Executive Order 10, 2020.
The governors will also touch issues around the Nigeria Liquefied Natural
Gas (NLNG) ownership, the controversial Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC) Bill. “Also to be discussed is the restructuring of states’ loans and the Federation Account Allocation
Committee (FAAC)
deductions, which have
been a recurring decimal
on the governors’ table.
As usual, the governors
will be given an update on
the COVID-19 pandemic
in the country, as well as
review a letter from the
national coordinator of the
Presidential Task Force on
COVID-19 as it relates to
the pandemic draft regulations,” he said.
Bello-Barkindo added
that there would also be a
general update on efforts
of the Coalition Against
COVID-19.
Meanwhile, lawyer,
Kayode Ajulo, has commended President Buhari
for signing Executive
Order 10. Ajulo said the
decision to sign the order
was “a step in the right
direction.”
He said Section 5(1) of
the 1999 Constitution (as
amended), had confirmed that the executive powers
of the President shall extend to the execution and
maintenance of the provisions of the Constitution.
“This provision of the
Constitution includes all
laws made by the National
Assembly; it means that
the power of the President
to make executive order
is derived under Section
5(1(b) of the 1999 Constitution.
“It means that an
executive order remains
an effective instrument
for good governance and
admiiration by the government.”
He, however, regretted
that experience in the
country had shown that
various executive orders
had been used by persons
in the corridors of powers
to achieve selfish interests.
Ajulo said the benchmark for the assessment of any democratic
government was theindependence of its tiers
of government, especially
the judiciary, at the federal
and state levels.
He said the executive
order was particularly crucial in view of the need to
build a strong democracy
around the twin doctrines
of separation of powers
and the rule of law.
Ajulo, while quoting
Prof. Ben Nwabueze, also
a constitutional lawyer,
said: “Autonomy will only
be meaningful in a situation whereby each level of
government is not constitutionally bound to accept
dictation from another.”
The legal practitioner
said the latest executive
order was not an attempt
to operate a unitary system
of government as argued
in some quarters.
He said Buhari, as the
Chief Executive Officer
of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, pursuant to Section 5 (1)(b), exercised the constitutional power conferred on him to ensure
the smooth administration
of the country.
“The executive powers of the President shall
extend to the execution
and maintenance of the
provisions of the Constitution and all laws made by
the National Assembly, ”
he said.
According to him, with
Executive Order 10, monies meant for the judiciary
would be paid directly to
the judicial accounts of the
states.
“Monies meant for the
Houses of Assembly of the
respective states are now
to be paid directly to them
for the benefit of the legislators and their legislative
mandate,” he said.
However, former
spokesman for Akwa Ibom
State House of Assembly,
Ime Okon, described
Executive Order 10 as
“surplusage” since there already existed a constitutional provision for the
said autonomy.
Okon, who was the
deputy leader of the sixth
session of Akwa Ibom
State House of Assembly,
which voted for autonomy
at the state level, said,
nevertheless, it was a welcome development that
would still help mould the
nation’s democracy.
“The executive order
cannot take precedence
over a law that has been
enacted by the National
Assembly and assented to
by the President
“Like I said, it is a
surplusage; if anything, it
tells us that the President
has the interest to make
sure that the institutions
of democracy are strengthened.
“For me as a person, I
have always gunned for
the independence of the
legislature because I feel
that independence of the
legislature would certainly
facilitate the work of the
legislature, especially, in
terms of oversight.”
The former lawmaker
said the new autonomy
must, however, be handled
well so as not to breed
any misunderstanding
between the executive and
the legislature, stressing
that what belongs to the
legislature should be given
to it while the legislators
should see whatever is
given to them as funds
to do their job and not
money to be shared.
He particularly advised
both parties to properly
handle the issue of constituency projects because
it is the right of each constituency to have projects
attracted to it by their
representatives, provided
such provisions are in the
budget.