The federal government has concluded plans to assert the independence of the legislature and judiciary in the thirty-six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters ( Senate) Ita Enang, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents after a meeting of the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary chaired by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
Enang who is also the Secretary of the panel announced that there would be a retreat at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa to deliberate and articulate an effective national implementation strategy in the matter.
The retreat, according to him, would hold between 16th and 17 th of May this year.
According to him, the committee has concluded its assignment as he said “The monitoring thus far, per the findings of the Committee is that there is spending on the Legislature and the Judiciary and for the Legislature and Judiciary.
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The intendment of the retreat is to ensure that the full import and purpose of the Constitution which is the release of sums due to the Legislature and the Judiciary to the heads of these Arms of Government to be disbursed and applied by them per the approved budget.”
Those at the briefing were Nasiru Ajanah, Chief Judge of Kogi state; Kate Abiri, Chief Judge of Bayelsa state and A.M.A.Saddeeq, Acting President, Customary Court of Appeal, FCT.
Others include David Umaru, Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary; Paul Usoro (SAN) President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Bala Hadi representing PASSAN, Barrister Chijioke representing the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Charles Bala of the panel’s secretariat.
The move is expected to halt under development at the grassroots as the government intends to check the use of State and Local government Joint Account system which is often used to siphon funds from the local government, amongst others.
This will also strengthen legislative oversight of the State House of Assembly in management of funds allocated to the local government.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
