Follow Us on Google
From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Vice Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum(NGF) and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has disclosed that governors of the 36 states are committed to the autonomy of the judiciary and legislature.
He, however, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of overreaching himself on the Executive Order 10 that canvassed judicial and legislative autonomies for states.
Tambuwal said the Nigerian Governors’ Forum expected President Buhari to have consulted widely before issuing the order, saying exercising such powers unilaterally was tantamount to illegality.
Other News
Tambuwal spoke in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, during an Attorney General’s Colloquium organised by the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice Academy, in honour of the retiring Chief Judge of the State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola.
Speaking on the topic: ‘The Judicial Autonomy: Perspective of the Nigerian Governor Forum’, Tambuwal said Buhari was Ill-advised in issuing the order that craved judicial autonomy for states, adding that such illegal voyage undermined the powers of the governors.
He said: “Nigeria in Section 121(3) provides that: “Any amount standing to the credit of the – (a)House of Assembly of the State; and (b) judiciary In the consolidated revenue fund of the state shall be paid directly to the said bodies respectively; in the case of the judiciary, such amount shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned. As governors of the 36 States under the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), let me state very clearly that we are unequivocally committed to the autonomy of the judiciary and the legislature.
“The recent misunderstanding on the financial autonomy of the judiciary is predicated on the need to establish an implementation framework to the 4th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Section 121(3). What we have questioned, and we have made this known at every opportunity, is the process of implementing this provision of the constitution. As governors, we will be failing in our responsibility if we refuse to draw the attention of the President, stakeholders and the country to grave concerns about the constitutionality of Executive Order 10 of 2020. That was the basis of the position that we took on the Executive Order 10.”
