Buhari ill-advised on Executive Order 10 for judiciary, legislature – Tambuwal

The Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, said on Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari was ill-advised on the Executive Order 10 that canvassed autonomy for judiciary and legislature in the state.

The governor, who stated this at the Attorney General’s Colloquium organised by the Ekiti State Ministry of Justice in honour of the retiring Chief Judge of the State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, in Ado-Ekiti, added that governors of the 36 states in the country are committed to the autonomy of the judiciary and the legislature.

President Buhari signed the Executive Order 10 in November last year.

The Judicial Staff Union of Union (JUSUN) had last month embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike to press home their demand for judicial autonomy in the state.

Tambuwal said the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) expected President Buhari to have consulted widely before issuing the order, adding that exercising such powers unilaterally was equal to illegality.

He said: “Nigeria in Section 121(3) provides that: “Any amount standing to the credit of the – (a) House of Assembly of the State; and (b) Judiciary In the Consolidated revenue Fund of the State shall be paid directly to the said bodies respectively; in the case of the judiciary, such amount shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts concerned.

“As governors of the 36 States under the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), let me state very clearly that we are unequivocally committed to the autonomy of the judiciary and the legislature.

READ ALSO: Govs resolve to adopt financial autonomy for legislature, judiciary

“The recent misunderstanding on the financial autonomy of the Judiciary is predicated on the need to establish an implementation framework to the 4th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Section 121(3). What we have questioned, and we have made this known at every opportunity, is the process of implementing this provision of the Constitution.

“As governors, we will be failing in our responsibility if we refuse to draw the attention of the President, stakeholders and the country to grave concerns about the constitutionality of Executive Order 10 of 2020. That was the basis of the position that we took on the Executive Order 10.

“The Executive Order 10 ostensibly intended to support the implementation of judicial financial autonomy, was completely unnecessary and ill advised. Let me at this juncture state clearly that we never questioned the right of Mr. President to issue Executive Orders. We only stated that S.121 (3) did not require Presidential Executive Fiat to become implementable.”

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