The Presidential Implementation Committee on the Autonomy of States Legislature and Judiciary has recommended creation of the State Accounts Allocation Committee to determine the revenue sharing formula for each Arm of Government based on the budgetary provision and funds available to the each State.
The creation of SAAC was one of the recommendations reached by the Presidential Implementation Committee on the autonomy for State Legislature and Judiciary, at the state level.
SAAC, the States version of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee FAAC, was recommended by the Committee to ease the implementation of the financial autonomy for Legislature and Judiciary Arms of government at the State level.
The Committee, according to the Communique passed at the end of deliberations of the Implementation Committee, on weekend, will comprise the state Commissioners of Finance, the Accountant General of the State, the Clerk of the State House of Assembly, the Chief Registrars of High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Courts, the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission/Committee and the Secretary of the State Assembly Service Commission if any,
BusinessDay gathered that Budget performance across 36 States of the Federation had shown that State with the least allocations of funds to the State Judiciary in the past three years gave 0.6 percent of the Budget of the entire State, the State with highest allocation allocated 4.89 percent of it budgetary provisions to the Judiciary
The Presidential Implementation Committee therefore urged the Governors as the Heads of the Executive Arm of Government to begin full implementation of the financial autonomy granted the Legislature and the Judiciary., without further delays
The Committee also recommended the adoption “of the Budgeting model operating at the Federal level where the sum due to the Judiciary and the Legislature are captured as first line Charge in the Budget laid before and passed by the Legislature;
“That the Budget proposal of the Legislature and Judiciary should be defended before the relevant Committees of the Legislature;
“That the total sum, both Capital and Recurrent, approved in the Annual Budget of the State, be released monthly on a pro–rata basis by the Accountant General of the State, directly to the Heads of the Legislature and the Judiciary, and Heads of Judicial Service Committee or Commission;
“That the budgeted sum, Capital and Recurrent howsoever described, be released to the Judiciary to be spent by the Judiciary on the projects, programmes and capital development of the Judiciary, including recruitment and training of personnel. And so for the Legislature;
Other recommendations include the abolition of the current practice in some States where appropriated Recurrent Expenditure due the Judiciary and Legislature in the budget, are released to the Judiciary and Legislature, while the Capital components are warehoused in the Executive arm.
They also recommended that the Model Budget Template of the Judiciary and Legislature, the strata of line consultations and inter Arms, as well as Inter-Agency pre-budget consultations and front loading as already done in some states, be adopted.
Under the new arrangements, retirement benefit and pensions of judicial officers of Superior Courts of records in the State will be paid by the National Judicial Council since they currently receive their salaries and allowances from the NJC while in office.
“ All the Houses of Assembly are encouraged “to pass Funds Management Law or Budget Process Law by whatever name called, as a legal framework that will ensure judicious budgeting and use of funds accrued to the State.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
