Governors meet in state house over financial autonomy

State governors are in an ongoing meeting at the state house, Abuja, to deliberate on several issues including the nationwide strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN)

President Muhammadu Buhari had, 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.

However, governors are yet to carry out the implementation of this executive order.

Consequently, members of JUSUN commenced a nationwide industrial action on April 6, insisting that the strike will continue until their demands are met.

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, had, on Monday, in Sokoto, maintained that the decision of the federal government to ensure the implementation of the executive Order 10 stands.

Speaking to journalists at the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, Simon Lalong, governor of Plateau state, had said although governors are not opposed to the financial autonomy, they were not informed when the law was passed.

“We were not consulted when we saw a law passed and order came. So, when you are talking about implementation, you’re talking about policy. You don’t wake up because a law is passed and you said you are doing it. How? There must be processes,” Lalong had said.

Insecurity, as well as other national issues, are said to also be on the agenda for discussion at the meeting.