State Assembly Autonomy: Governors To Take Stand On Presidential Order

Governors have in the past frustrated efforts by the National Assembly to grant financial autonomy to state houses of assembly.

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State is the Nigeria Governors Forum Chairman / Photo credit: guardian.ng
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State is the Nigeria Governors Forum Chairman / Photo credit: guardian.ng

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum will meet on Wednesday to take a stand on the executive order recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, giving financial autonomy to the judiciary and legislature at the state level.

Governors have in the past frustrated efforts by the National Assembly to grant financial autonomy to state houses of assembly.

Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, Head of Media and Public Affairs at the NGF secretariat in a statement on Tuesday said the consultation would be the ninth in the series of teleconference meetings held by the governors since the lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Barkindo,“Among the issues to be reviewed are a number of critical national questions that revolve around the financial autonomy for the states’ judiciary and legislature code-named the Executive Order 10, 2020.”

He said, “The governors will also touch issues around the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) ownership, the controversial Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Bill.

“Also to be discussed is the restructuring of states’ loans and the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) deductions,which have been a recurring decimal on the governors’ table.

Barkindo said, “As usual the governors will be given an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, as well as review a letter from the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 as it relates to the pandemic draft regulations.”

The Interview Editors

Written by The Interview Editors

The Interview is a niche publication, targeting leaders and aspiring leaders in business, politics, entertainment, sports, arts, the professions and others within society’s upper middle class and high-end segment in Nigeria.