Governors’ Forum, Assembly Speakers Assure On Financial Autonomy For Legislature, Judiciary

As part of efforts to ensure the full implementation of financial autonomy to state legislature and judiciary, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria have resolved to work in synergy.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Spokesperson to the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abdul Ahmad Burra, made available to journalists yesterday.

According to the statement, the two bodies assured that it will not relent until all the terms agreed on the Memorandum of Action on the implementation of the financial autonomy for the two arms were fully met.

The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria who is also the Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, made the disclosure shortly after a crucial meeting with the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat in Abuja.

Abubakar explained that although many states had commenced the implementation of the autonomy, the meeting became necessary in order to push for more commitments from the governors who are yet to complete the processes of the implementation.

He commended the Governors’ Forum for their support and cooperation towards the actualisation of the implementation of the Executive Order 10 which granted financial autonomy to states legislature and judiciary for effective service delivery and good governance across the country.

The chairman urged the Governors’ Forum to ensure that other governors who are yet to meet the agreement of the Memorandum of Action on the implementation of the financial autonomy, do so immediately.

In his response, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Fayemi, reaffirmed the support commitment of all governors on the full implementation of the financial autonomy to state legislatures.

He attributed the delay of the implementation in some states to plan to capture the implementation in the next year’s budgets.

Fayemi assured the Speakers that the Forum will monitor and ensure that all hitches toward the implementation in some states are tackled for the overall interest of Nigerians.