Executive Order 10: Governors Protest To Aso Rock, Insist Buhari Delays Gazetting

State governors opposing the implementation of the controversial Executive Order 10, squeezed a promise from President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday to delay the gazetting of the new rule.

THE WHISTLER  recalls that Buhari had signed the order to give effect to the provision of Section 121 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The amendment, which was passed by the 8th National Assembly, granted full financial autonomy to state legislatures and the state judiciary -meaning that the two arms of government will draw funds directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of their states, as against going cap in hand to survive on whatever the executive offers to them.

However, many months after Buhari appended his signature to the constitutional amendment, the states failed to implement it.

The Whistler observes that the attitude of the states forced Buhari recently to issue the executive fiat to give effect to the law.

By its provision, the order empowers the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct directly the share of the legislature and the judiciary from the allocations due to the states from the Federation Account and hand it over to the two arms of government.

But, the governors kicked against the order, saying that it encroached their independence by prescribing certain powers not contained in the constitution itself.

THE WHISTlLER  gathered that Monday’s meeting was convened primarily to get a commitment from Buhari to delay the gazetting of order 10.

Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, met with the governors on behalf of his principal at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The governors who represented their colleagues were the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum and Governor of Sokoto State, Mr Aminu Tambuwal; and Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Kebbi State, Mr Abubakar Atiku-Bagudu.

On the President’s team were Gambari; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami; and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.

Speaking with State House Correspondents after the meeting, Fayemi confirmed that the governors extracted a promise from the President to delay the gazetting of the order, pending when the states would work out modalities for its seamless implementation.

Fayemi spoke further,  “We have a delegation of the governors’ forum here to discuss some matters of fundamental importance to the nation and the President has asked that we meet with the attorney-general, the chief of staff and the minister of finance, planning and budget on the issue.

 “It is an issue that has seized the interest of many of you in the media and a lot of people in the federation. It is about the autonomy of the state legislature and the judiciary and we have met with the President before now on it and the President was very pleased that  for us as governors, we are all united in support of the autonomy of state judiciary and the legislature; that is the position of the 36 governors of the federation.

“What is at issue is on the constitutionality of the modalities of what had been put in the executive order and the President was gracious enough to say okay, given your concerns about that, we will delay the gazetting of the order and allow you meet with the attorney-general and the minister of finance to work out the modalities.”

Fayemi added that meetings had also been held with speakers of state Houses of Assembly to resolve any issues that the implementation of the order might cause in the states.