Buhari grants financial autonomy to state legislature, judiciary

President Muhammadu Buhari has granted financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary across the 36 states of the country.

Buhari granted the autonomy via a new executive order signed on Friday.

The president, who broke the news on Twitter, added that his administration would “continue to do everything to strengthen the principles and practice of democratic governance in Nigeria.”

He wrote: “Based on the power vested in me under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended), I, today, signed into law Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary.”

Buhari signed the executive order six months after the conference of speakers of state assemblies in Nigeria urged him to make such a move.

After a meeting with Buhari, Mudashiru Obasa, chairman of the conference of speakers, told reporters that they wanted the implementation of the autonomy “to move faster.”

Although the amended 1999 constitution had incorporated the independence and financial autonomy for state legislature, it is not being implemented in many states.

With the order in effect, it could mean that federal government allocations for the state and judiciary will now be separated from the source instead of being left at the control of governors.

The governors, some of whom have been convicted for fraud over the years, have often been accused of misusing the funds with little or no checks from the state assemblies.