Friday Olokor

• FG can’t force governors to enforce financial autonomy – Plateau gov

• NGF plans talks with judiciary workers to end JUSUN’s eight-day strike


The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, on Tuesday said state governors were not opposed to financial autonomy for the judiciary and the legislature.
Lalong, who stated this in an interview with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum press corps in Abuja, however, faulted the Executive Order 10, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) signed into law last year.
The Plateau State governor, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, said the Federal Government could not force states to implement financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature.
Lalong said that there were measures that must be taken before the autonomy could be implemented.
He added that state governors would meet with the leadership of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria on Wednesday (today) with a view to ending the strike embarked upon by the union.

Judiciary workers had on Tuesday last week begun the indefinite nationwide strike in protest against the denial of the judiciary its constitutionally-guaranteed financial autonomy which was also affirmed by a Federal High Court in January 2014.
Recall that the President last year signed into law, Executive Order No 10 of 2020 cited as “the implementation of financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary Order, 2020.”

According to www.thelawcrest.com, a key provision of the Executive Order, “which seeks to enforce financial autonomy of the legislature and judiciary of the states, is the power given to the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from the allocations due to a state from the Federation Account, any sums appropriated for the legislature or judiciary of that state which the state fails to release to its legislature or judiciary as the case may be and to pay the funds directly to the state’s legislature or judiciary concerned.”
Responding to questions on the public outcry over the ongoing strike by JUSUN allegedly caused by the state governors and the non-implementation of Executive Order 10, Lalong said, “The court did not make any pronouncement on Order 10. The court said there is a law on financial autonomy, so Order 10 and financial autonomy are different. Order 10 is not a law. Financial autonomy is a law.

“People don’t understand what Order 10 is. Order 10 is talking about implementation. But for us governors, we are saying no. We are going to do implementation. We don’t need any Order 10 to force us to do implementation. So, we don’t need Order 10. We are only working on the law of implementation because Federal Government cannot tell us how to implement.
“We are doing the implementation. So for the judiciary, I’ve explained. I have said it’s perhaps people don’t understand. People have not even read what is Order 10 and the difference between Order 10 and the financial autonomy. We will have a meeting tomorrow. It is (the meeting) about financial autonomy.
“It’s not about Order 10. Order 10 of course is sub-judice now. It’s in court. 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’m a governor, and I knew how the governors agreed, and brought in financial autonomy. It was a law, agreed by the governors.
“So who is the one that is even crying more than the bereaved? All these things affect us. And, of course, talking today, I’m a lawyer and I would want the judiciary to be autonomous.

“I’ve been a legislator. I was a speaker and chairman of speakers’ conference, so I will say that I will want autonomy for them.
He said autonomy would strengthen the judiciary and legislature in states. “People are thinking that is about money, it’s not about money. We want all the institutions strengthened; both the judiciary and the legislature,” he stated.
While responding to question on why the governors were foot-dragging, Lalong disagreed with the insinuation.

He said, “No governor is foot-dragging. Who’s foot-dragging? We were not consulted when the Order came. So when you are talking about implementation, you’re talking about a policy.
“There must be processes. For instance, I will tell you that you cannot do financial autonomy, until you have a service commission in place. You must establish a state allocation committee, and all these are steps toward autonomy.

“You don’t achieve autonomy in a day. We did it for the National Assembly, and there was no Order 10 for implementation. It took them stages. The Federal Government is aware. Some former members of the National Assembly are today governors. How can they say they don’t want autonomy?
He stated that seven governors, who were once members of the National Assembly, fought for financial autonomy for the National Assembly.

“So we are saying it’s a process., someone will just come and say Order 10. I’m doing it today, no!” he added.
When asked the extent of dialogue on the financial autonomy, he said, “We’ve had very useful dialogue with both the representatives of the judiciary and the state speakers.

He said the unions would meet with governors on Wednesday. “Sometimes people don’t know what they are fighting for,” he said.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/legislature-judiciary-autonomy-govs-oppose-buhari-executive-order-10-back-financial-autonomy-says-lalong/%3famp

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Pheeww

He said autonomy would strengthen the judiciary and legislature in states. “People are thinking that is about money, it’s not about money. We want all the institutions strengthened; both the judiciary and the legislature,” he stated.

The governors want to muscle the judiciary. They like the give them jeep and shut up style.

Different political party`s, Same interest.

The electorates are just pawn in this game. Divided by political affiliation, ethnic, religious and tribal lines, their leaders strongly united towards a single course-Enrich themselves.


Not surprised they all rejecting the judicial autonomy. Its much expected.

They are against it because when the Judiciary and the legislative are autonomous, their allegiance would no longer be to the Governors.

But what about political Godfathers and a tyrannic presidency or even a nepotic political party taking advantage of same legislators and Judiciary as threats on a Governor?

I dey come

Buhari ,the source of all problems and a man of no solutions

They just want control so they can be having kangaroo judgments in their favour

Damnnn niggarrrr
Isoright


Autonomy is good

Even Local Governments. It’s too sad how the governors have rubbished Local councils

Governors wanna cage judges.
If there is judicial autonomy, a lot of governors will sit up, because they will lose cases against ordinary citizens.

He don do

bunch of thieves

By the time the sharia chief judge gives his last order.... The aggrieved legislative secessionist will fold up....

All these Governors are theives...they just want the judiciary in their pockets

Please help a brother how can I retrieve my Facebook account that was been hacked

Federal forming saint at the expense of the states, state forming saint at the expense of the local people. Two devilish, selfish government levels. Anuofia

As long as it is sharing money, there must be fight for who gets lion share. The country revolves around sharing money, then looting it.

Lalong just dey confuse person, please who understands what he’s saying?

Nigerian governors always want to play god all the time.
Look at Rochas Today, after acting like Queen Elizabeth husband for eight years now he's been reduced to nothing after leaving office.

Yaya Bello doesn't know he's bellow the food chain in APC. There are politicians who are Lions while he's still a Bush rat when he leaves office

All of una Dey mad

.

A bulk of the problem of this country is from the state govt level and not fed govt

Nonsense!!!


Financial autonomy is constitutional...as a matter of fact, it doesn't require executive order...

The Judiciary should fight this anomaly till the very end...

The Judiciary should stop collecting Greek gifts from the executives....same also the legislative arm of government. Executives shouldn't be bank rolling them...Let each arm of government take control of their own finances to TRULY BE AN INDEPENDENT ARM OF GOVERNMENT!

Governors has always been the major problem that is stopping us from moving forward... Shame on them

AllenSpencer:
Different political party`s, Same interest.

The electorates are just pawn in this game. Divided by political affiliation, ethnic, religious and tribal lines, their leaders strongly united towards a single course-Enrich themselves.


Not surprised they all rejecting the judicial autonomy. Its much expected.

This is the only knowledge we need to accept to be free. Sometimes I wish I can tell everyone exactly what you've said. They don't care about us. You'll take a gun bullet from APC for a PDP candidate today, tomorrow he will move to APC without consulting you. All they care about is their immunity and families and concubines

They give us campaign promises like they're going there to do it with their own money. We're just after seeing our religion, region, party member or tribe in the position whether competent or incompetent

Funny enough most of their children don't know if they're from Nigeria but we're here insulting each other and burning in their barbeque furnace

Useless

we will not accept order 10.
never!

give us ben 10

The governors see their States as autonomous hence, they can rally round and box Buhari's order to a corner.

They don't mean well for the country because Buhari's body language is even worse.

I pity the gullible masses.

The government is ALWAYS United against the governed irrespective of their party affiliation, tribe, region or religion.

They'll always disagree before us to agree behind us. And we're here killing ourselves cos of party affiliation, tribe, region or religion.

The country will continue in mess till we learn to unite as the determinants of those who governs us per time.

If one person spearhead the movement now, same we that are nobody will see it as politics.

During #endsars protest we stood and spoke against older men ruling us, but today the same youths has already chosen their candidates among the older men. Even when it's obvious that they're one and same.

The country is burning but they're campaigning for 2023, what does that tells you?

Must you be in position before you correct the happenings or help the masses

Lagos and Yoruba wants Tinubu but he's already letting them know he doesn't need them so he's campaigning in the North already

Wake up my country men