Financial autonomy for state Assemblies amendment rejected by 31 governors

At least 31 governors have yet to provide their states’ legislatures financial authority, blatantly flouting constitutional obligations.

According to research by The Guardian, the Houses of Assembly only have some degree of financial independence at the moment in five states: Lagos, Delta, Plateau, Oyo, and Nasarawa.

Eleven more have some autonomy. These states are: Rivers, Ogun, Osun, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Enugu, Kogi, Kwara, Bauchi, and Ogun.
However, Ondo, Katsina, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Ekiti, Abia, and Imo are the ones lacking any kind of financial sovereignty. Other states are Zamfara, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Anambra, Ebonyi, Niger, Bauchi, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

Recall that last week, after the deadline for state assemblies throughout the nation to adopt financial autonomy expired, members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) in roughly 20 states across the nation started a statewide industrial strike.

Gbenga Oluwajuyigbe, the chairman of PASAN in Ekiti State, stated that the National and State Assemblies had equal financial autonomy. While the National Assembly has enjoyed complete autonomy during the past ten years due to the fact that its funds are allocated first, things have been different in the state legislatures.

He clarified that there are three categories of autonomous compliance: non-compliance, full implementation, and partial implementation.

When the language and spirit of Section 121 are followed and legislative allotments are positioned in the first line charge, there is complete financial sovereignty. Furthermore, since the administration still pays the legislature’s salary, it is only partially implemented.

Oluwajuyigbe stated: “The 1999 Constitution, as amended, has a section called Section 121 that gives the legislature financial independence. All we are demanding is that this constitutional provision be put into effect by the government.

“Non-implementation of the autonomy clause refers to the fact that they have not started putting Section 121 into practise in any way. In this instance, the State Assembly still applies to the governor for funding requests for almost anything.

Since salaries are still under the Accountant General’s supervision but are not being paid at the state assembly, we might claim that Ekiti is only partially implemented. It will only be a partial implementation until they have a pay point of their own, similar to what we have at the National Assembly.

Usman Mohammed, the national president of PASAN, reaffirmed that Jigawa is gradually being brought on board and that Lagos and the Plateau are already independent.

“Section 121 of the Constitution gives the state legislative authority; it does not imply you should do it partially. It states that the full sum intended for the judiciary and state legislature should be moved to their respective accounts. It stated that all of the monies should be transferred, not only the capital, overhead, or labour costs, Mohammed added.

Recall that numerous obstacles put up by the governors of the 36 states that make up the federation have made the fight for financial autonomy for State Houses of Assembly, which started in 2010, difficult at times.

The state legislatures, which were initially firmly in the hands of the state governors, were unable to vigorously and fervently advocate for financial autonomy, which is why they were defeated in the 2010 National Assembly first amendment contest.

According to sources who spoke with The Guardian, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 to give the 4th Alteration Act of 2017—a constitutional amendment—some teeth. This marked the beginning of the effort to make the second arm of government financially independent.

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According to a source, the Eighth National Assembly amended the constitution in 2017 to grant State Houses of Assembly and State Judiciary financial autonomy. The sum standing to the credit of the State Houses of Assembly and the Judiciary in the State’s Consolidated Revenue Fund will be remitted directly to the aforementioned bodies under the amended law.

A Presidential Implementation Committee on State Legislature and Judiciary was established by the President in March 2019 to guarantee that the government’s designated funds be paid directly to these branches.

In order to ensure adherence to the Constitutional provisions, President Buhari interfered by issuing Executive Order 10 in order to address implementation issues presented by the governors.

Nevertheless, the state governors, acting through their umbrella organisation, the “Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF),” said they were unable to carry out the financial autonomy provided by the Constitution because of a “lack of modality for implementation.”

NGF, dissatisfied with Buhari’s Executive 10 Order, challenged its legitimacy in the Supreme Court and won a ruling in their favour.

The NGF, the President’s Office of Chief of Staff, the Presidential Committee on the Implementation of Financial Autonomy, the Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, the Office of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, and other relevant parties convened to discuss potential solutions in order to resolve the crisis, an insider told The Guardian.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution was created as a result of the first-ever semblance of unanimity over the mode of implementation.

The consequential amendment (modality for implementation) on the Financial Autonomy for the State Houses of Assembly received presidential assent from President Buhari on March 16, 2023, giving the state assembly the much-needed financial independence.

Eight months after the 1999 Constitution (as amended) was passed, with clear provisions on implementation, only five states out of 36 have allowed their Houses of Assembly full autonomy thus far.

In response to the development, a lawmaker—who wished to remain anonymous out of concern for retaliation—exposed that certain state legislatures continue to rely on their governors to supply fuel for the generators they use in plenary sessions.

He questioned, “How can you have good laws when we are treated like a branch of the government? It is an undeniable fact that the one who pays the piper determines the music. The governor has the last say over what is done. Similar to the National Assembly, we must have autonomy.

Following the recent industrial action, Dr. Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, begged the striking parliamentary employees to call off their strike, stating that the state will shortly start implementing the financial autonomy law.

Assuring that the state would soon join the league of States with legislative financial autonomy, Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, stated that the state governor, Ademola Adeleke, had received the request from the parliament to approve financial autonomy for the Assembly.

On August 6, 2022, the governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, signed a bill into law granting financial autonomy to the legislative and judicial branches of government. However, state PASAN chairman, Mr. Isiaka Jibrin Gital, said that the law was still only partially implemented.

He said that the state’s functioning “Assembly Service Commission Law 2004” and “Fund Management Law” are among the elements that would guarantee financial autonomy.

According to Florence Ebeku, the chairperson of PASAN in Cross River State, “what we want from the government is that the State Legislature must be financially autonomous,” the state has not yet put Executive Order 10 into effect.

The governor has given the judiciary authority while ignoring the legislative branch, according to Benue State House of Assembly Assistant Director of Publications Bem Abunde, who told The Guardian that “you cannot choose which part of the law to obey and which part not to obey.”

In a similar spirit, Saater Tiseer, the majority leader of the Benue State House of Assembly, stated to The Guardian that the state has not yet given the assembly financial autonomy.

He revealed that the current assembly had complied with an agreement reached by the previous assembly (9th), in which former governor Samuel Ortom reviewed the overhead accruable to the House on an upward basis rather than granting financial autonomy.

However, Tiseer hinted that the current governor, Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has already formed a committee led by the state commissioner of finance to hash out the details and has signalled a willingness to cooperate.

The House of Assembly in Kwara State continues to have some degree of financial autonomy. “The House merely enjoys autonomy in recurrent expenditure while it is handicapped in handling capital expenditure,” a politician who begged to remain anonymous told The Guardian.

Even so, he claimed, it is still preferable to many states where the Assembly is required to submit financial recommendations to the Commissioners of Finance and the Accountant General before they are allowed to purchase stationery.

Bashir Yahaya, the chairman of PASAN in Kano State, expressed sadness that the state Assembly still relies on the executive branch for both capital and ongoing expenses.

Abubakar Yusuf, the chairman of PASAN in Sokoto State, said that the state Assembly still depends on the governor for its financial needs and vowed to keep up the strike until the second branch of government is given complete financial autonomy.

Harrison Ogara, a representative for the Igboeze South constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly, told The Guardian that “as it is today, the situation has not changed.” The majority of Nigerian states, including Enugu State, have not yet put the constitutional provision into effect. The PASAN went on a statewide strike for this reason.

The nation’s democracy could suffer a fatal blow if the state legislature, which is regarded as an authentic voice of the people, were to become weaker, according to former Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Owoseni Ajayi and former Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) Vice Chancellor Prof. Kayode Soremekun.

In a different interview with The Guardian, the pair asked the governors to reconsider and take the necessary actions as outlined in the Nigerian Constitution, arguing that the legislative branch is too important to be undermined.

“The danger of the state Assembly’s lack of autonomy is that it has the potential to imperil this democracy,” stated Soremekun. Democracy will be severely damaged by the time you emasculate the voices of the people that appear to be genuine. I believe the governors ought to reconsider and take the necessary actions as outlined in the Constitution.

The branch of government under discussion is critical to the continued existence of democracy. In the best interests of the populace and the governors themselves, this branch of government shouldn’t be diminished since it is too important. The manner in which the governors were involved in the legislators’ election process contributes to some of the issues.

They all belong to the same party, and they all gave in to the governors’ requests in a very noticeable way. Legislators ought to stand up for themselves and understand their fundamental role in democracy, though. Legislators ought to owe their eternal gratitude to the electorate, not the governors.

The governors must be further educated on the need of abiding by the word and spirit of the constitution. Long-term, they stand to gain by granting the second arm of government full independence, which will enable them to enact sound legislation and act as a check on the Executive branch’s capriciousness. Our society will ultimately be better managed if the Houses of Assembly are genuinely autonomous, he claimed.

Lawyer Ajayi believes that the judiciary branch of government and state assemblies are experiencing the same problems.

“They are fighting for what is already provided for in the 1999 Constitution as amended,” he stated in reference to their financial situation. Generally speaking, this shouldn’t be taught in school. The government’s judiciary began operating on its own last year for a few months. We were unable to appear in court due to their workers’ strike. Not because their demand for complete autonomy was satisfied, but rather because of the intervention of senior people in the nation, it was called up. The crisis has an impact on the legislative and courts. They received deception as a gift.

Our constitution contains a clear provision on the subject, and the Supreme Court has rendered a ruling on it as well. The legislative and the courts are being oppressed and undermined by the executive arm of government. Because they have authority over the state’s resources and security apparatus, they were able to do this.

The two branches of government are being blatantly oppressed, in my opinion. Democracy is not benefiting from what is happening. You may find it interesting to learn that Executive Order 10 was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, but the governors blocked it. To guarantee the true independence of state assemblies, nothing has been left undone.

“I wholeheartedly endorse the striking action. Why does the executive branch dominate the legislative and judicial branches? It’s because they can control them when they do that. You may find it interesting that the Speaker and the Chief Judge typically approach the executive branch with a limp hand in hand, accepting meagre payments. They are unable to administer justice in accordance with the law because of this oppression,” Ajayi stated.

The Guardian