State governors under the umbrella of Nigeria Governors Forum NGF has rejected the Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the implementation of financial autonomy for state Legislature and Judiciary.
The governors made this know during their meeting in Abuja on Tuesday. According to the NGF, the President’s Executive Order 10 is not required before governors could move for the implementation of the financial autonomy in their various states.
They clarified that while the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) is not against the implementation of the law on financial autonomy, they would not be stampeded by the Order.
The governors said the presidency did not carry along before the order was enacted. Executive Order 10 was issued by the President on May 10, last year.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Plateau State Governor Simon said, the governors are not pleased with the executive order. Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami on Monday said, the Federal Government was determined to push through the content of EO 10. Saying “No going back” on the matter.
But Governor Lalong insisted that the Executive order was unnecessary. He said: “For us the governors, we are saying no. We are going to do implementation.
You don’t need Order 10 to force us to do implementation. So, we don’t need Order 10.
“We are already working on the law of implementation, because the federal government cannot tell us how to implement. We are doing the implementation.
“People don’t know the difference between Order 10 and the law on financial autonomy. What we are having meetings on, which we are going to conclude tomorrow, is about financial autonomy. It is not about Order 10. Order 10, of course, is subjudice now, because it is in court.
“But, we are not bothered about Order 10. We are talking about the implementation of the financial autonomy law. I was a Speaker. We started it in 1999. Today, I am a governor. And I know how the governors agreed and brought in financial autonomy.
“It was a law agreed by the governors, who said go and pass it. Otherwise. It would not have been passed. We brought it up during every constitutional amendment. But, by the time we got there, we all agreed, as governors, and said let us pass it in our states and we passed it. So, who is the one that is crying more than the bereaved? “We are the ones most affected. All these things affect us. I am a lawyer and I will want the Judiciary to be autonomous. I have been a legislator. I was not only a legislator, I was a Speaker and Chairman of Former Speakers Conference up till today. So, I will want autonomy for them. I am a member of the Executive today. ‘’So, in essence, it is about strengthening the institutions. People are thinking it is about money. It is not about money; it is about strengthening the institutions,” “For instance, as a Speaker, I will tell you that you cannot do financial autonomy until you have a Service Commission in place. You must establish a Service Commission; you must establish a State Allocation Committee. And all these are steps towards autonomy. You cannot achieve autonomy in a day. he added.
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