Governors of the 36 states of the federation, under the aegis of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), will meet today to deliberate on Executive Order 10, 2020, signed by President
Muhammadu Buhari last week, which grants financial autonomy to states’ judiciary and legislature.
Head of media and public affairs for the NGF, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the meeting would be the ninth in a series of teleconferences by the governors since the outbreak of COVID-19.
President Buhari, had, on Friday, May 22, signed into law Executive Order 10 granting financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary at all levels across the 36 states.
The order makes it compulsory for states to grant financial autonomy as it mandates the AccountantGeneral of the Federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from monthly allocations to each state.
The move is targeted at making such funds available to legislatures and judiciaries in states that refuse to grant them autonomy.
The order has caused mixed reactions across the country with some groups commending the President for bringing to bear the intention of the drafters of the Constitution, while others have risen against it.
According to Bello-Barkindo, the meeting will take place at 2pm, with all 36 states governors in attendance brainstorming via Microsoft Team from their various states.
“Among the issues to be reviewed are a number of critical national questions that revolve around the financial autonomy for the states’ judiciary and legislature, code-named the Executive Order 10, 2020.
The governors will also touch issues around the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) ownership, the controversial Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Bill.
“Also to be discussed is the restructuring of states’ loans and the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) deductions, which have been a recurring decimal on the governors’ table.
As usual, the governors will be given an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, as well as review a letter from the national coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 as it relates to
the pandemic draft regulations,” he said.
Bello-Barkindo added that there would also be a general update on efforts of the Coalition Against COVID-19.
