By Appolos Christian
The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for signing an Executive Order 10, granting financial autonomy for states judiciary and legislature.
The union, in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu , also praised the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami, Senator Ita Enang, the secretary of the committee and other members of the Presidential Committee on Actualisation of Financial Autonomy for States Legislature and Judiciary.
Comrade Marwan, said that financial autonomy of state legislatures has been the dream of the JUSUN, which according to him poised JUSUN to go the court and eventually secured a judgement in favour of financial autonomy for the Judiciary.
President Muhammadu Buhari has on Friday signed into law Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary.
This followed a Presidential Implementation Committee which was constituted to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in compliance with Section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended); taking into considerations all other applicable laws, instruments, conventions and regulations, which provides for financial autonomy at the State tier of Government.
The President signed the Executive Order number 10 into law based on the power vested in him as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended), which extends to the execution and maintenance of the Constitution, laws made by the National Assembly (including but not limited to Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended), which guarantee financial autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary.
The Order Provides that: “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall by this Order and such any other Orders, Regulations or Guidelines as may be issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, authorise the deduction from source in the course of Federation Accounts Allocation from the money allocated to any State of the Federation that fails to release allocation meant for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with the financial autonomy guaranteed by Section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).
“Based on the Executive Order at the commencement of this Order for implementation of financial autonomy for State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended), all States of the Federation shall include the allocations of the two Arms of Government in their Appropriation Laws.”
Article 6 (1) provides that, “notwithstanding the provisions of this Executive Order, in the first three years of its implementation, there shall be special extraordinary capital allocations for the Judiciary to undertake capital development of State Judiciary Complexes, High Court Complexes, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal and Court Complexes of other Courts befitting the status of a Courts”.
