President MuhammaduBuhari, on Friday, signed into law an Executive Order to grant financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary across the 36 states of the country. He made the announcement in a tweet on Friday, May 22. He said, "Based on the power vested in me under Section 5 of the 1999 constitution (as amended), I, today, signed into law Executive Order 10 of 2020 for the implementation of financial autonomy of state legislature and judiciary.
"This administration will continue to do everything to strengthen the principles and practice of democracy and democratic governance in Nigeria."
The order also mandates the accountant-general of the federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.
The new order follows a Presidential Implementation Committee constituted to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for states’ Legislature and Judiciary in compliance with section 121(3) of the Constitution.
Section 121 (3) of the 1999 Constitution states: “Any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned.”
The new order tagged Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary Order, 2020 is aimed at strengthening the financial autonomy of the judiciary and legislature at the state level.
