Governors approve plan for financial autonomy for state legislature, judiciary

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) says it approved a template to implement financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary.

The governors’ template was drawn up from a memorandum they signed with Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).

The development was contained in a communique issued by Kayode Fayemi, NGF chairman and governor of Ekiti, on Thursday after a meeting of the governors on Wednesday.

Fayemi said the template was developed following a meeting with state attorneys-general and commissioners of finance but he did not disclose details of how it will be implemented.

“The forum has approved a common template for the implementation of the Memorandum of Action signed with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) on the implementation of financial autonomy for the State legislature and judiciary,” he said.

“The template was developed following a meeting of the State Attorneys General and Commissioners of Finance which was held on the 25th of June 2021 at the directive of the forum.”

President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2020 signed the executive order 10 granting financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary across the 36 states of the country.

The order makes it mandatory for all states to include the allocations of both the legislature and the judiciary in the first-line charge of their budgets.

Fayemi said the launch of the Peace and Inclusive Security Initiative (PISI) will tackle insecurity, conflicts and violence in the country.

“The launch of PISI which took place on 8th July 2021 heralded an important milestone for NGF as it seeks to build a more inclusive and collaborative platform to drive an urgent country-wide response to security challenges in the country,” he said.