The federal government has released details of Executive
Order No.10 of 2020, four days after it was signed into law by President
Mohammadu Buhari.
The details signals the implementation of Financial Autonomy
for the State Legislature and Judiciary Order of 2020.
With Buhari’s assent, the legislative and judicial arms of
government in the 36 states of the federation will no longer have to wait on
State governors for funds.
In the details released on Tuesday by Umar
Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media to Attorney-General of the Federation,
Abubakar Malami, President Buhari said his decision was based on Section 5 of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).
Details of the Presidents orders as
follows:
“1. Appropriation, Authorisation, Orders, etc:
(a) Without prejudice to any other applicable laws,
legislations and conventions at the State tier of Government, which also
provides for financial autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary,
allocation of appropriated funds to the State Legislature and State Judiciary
in the State appropriation laws in the annual budget of the State, shall be a
charge upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State, as a First Line Charge.
(b) The Accountant-General of the Federation shall by this
Order and such any other Orders, Regulations or Guidelines as may be issued by
the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, authorise the
deduction from source, in the course of Federation Accounts Allocation from the
money allocated to any State of the Federation that fails to release allocation
meant for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with the financial
autonomy guaranteed by Section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).
“2. Determination of the Budget:
Notwithstanding the provisions of any existing law,
convention or regulation, other than the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended), providing for appropriation or management of
funds at the State tier of Government as follows:
(a) every State Government of the Federation shall set up a
Committee from the commencement of this Executive Order comprising the
Commissioner of Finance, Accountant-General of the State, representative of the
State Budget Office, Chief Registrars of State High Court, Sharia Court of
Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal, (where applicable), the Clerk to the
State House of Assembly and the Secretary of the State Judicial Service
Committee or Commission;
(b) where applicable, determine and ascertain from the
Revenue profile of the State, a workable budget for each Arm of the State
Government based on the request and needs of the Accounting Officers; and (c)
the Committee shall be given and accorded legal recognition in the various
relevant appropriation or Funds Management Laws of the States.
“3. Creation of State Judiciary Budget Committee:
(a) For the purpose of Appropriation to the State Judiciary,
each State Judiciary of the federation shall set up a State Judiciary Budget
Committee (in this Order referred to as “a Committee”) to serves as an
administrative body to prepare, administer and implement the budget of the
State Judiciary with such modifications as may be required to meet the needs of
the State Judiciary.
(b) The Committee shall consist of the State Chief Judge as
the Chairman with the Grand Kadi, Sharia Court of Appeal, the President,
Customary Court of Appeal, where applicable and two members of the Judicial
Service Committee or Judicial Service Commission to be appointed by the Chief
Judge, in consultation with other Members of the Committee, to serve as
Members.
(c) The Chief Registrar of the State High Court is to serve
as Secretary.
(d) The modalities for budget preparations and
implementation shall include but not limited to the following:
(i) upon the receipt of the Budget Estimates of the Fiscal
Year for the State Judiciary, the State Judiciary Budget Committee shall invite
all the Accounting Officers of the various Courts/Judicial Bodies to defend
their budget estimates;
(ii) the budget estimates for Courts and Judicial bodies
shall be based on expenditure line items given to them by the State Judiciary
Budget Committee which shall be defended before the State House of Assembly;
and
(iii) upon the appropriation of Funds, the State Judiciary
Budget Committee shall on a monthly basis or as the case may be, request the
Budget Office of the State to release the statutory allocation for the quarter
or monthly and the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) shall be raised by the
Office of the Accountant-General of the State for the release of the Fund to
all the Heads of Courts/Judicial Bodies in line with the Appropriation Law.
“4. Budget Preparation, Templates and Modalities:
(a) Without prejudice to any existing budget templates in
force in any State of the federation, the State Legislature and State Judiciary
shall continue to maintain the strata of line consultations, inter Arms and
inter-Agency pre-budget consultations and frontloading as is done in some
States.
(b) The budget templates and models in the schedule to this
Executive Order shall apply to State Legislature and State Judiciary with
modifications, in compliance with Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) and such other applicable Laws.
“5. Appropriation and Supplementary Appropriation Law, etc:
(a) At the commencement of this Order for implementation of
financial autonomy for State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with section
121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended), all States of the Federation shall include the allocations of the two
Arms of Government in their Appropriation Laws.
(b) Where Appropriation Law exists in any State of the
federation before the commencement and implementation of this Order, such
States shall amend their Appropriation Law to encompass financial autonomy of
State Legislature and State Judiciary.
(c) This Order expects States without Appropriation Law on
the financial autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary to do so.
“6. Special Allocation for the Judiciary:
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Executive Order,
in the first three years of its implementation, there shall be special extraordinary
capital allocations for the Judiciary to undertake capital development of State
Judiciary Complexes, High Court Complexes, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary
Court of Appeal and Court Complexes of other Courts befitting the status of a
Courts.
(b) In this section, “Other Courts” includes Magistrate
Courts, District Courts, Customary Courts and Area Courts.
“7. Implementation of this Order:
(a) Subject to section 8(1) of this Order, implementation of
the provisions of this Order shall be carried out by the Presidential
Implementation Committee in accordance with its recommendations.
(b) To the extent as may be permitted by law, the
Accountant-General of the Federation shall take appropriate steps to ensure
compliance with the provisions of this Order and implementation of the
recommendations of the Committee, as may from time to time be made.
(c) This Order shall be implemented consistently with States
applicable laws that guarantee financial autonomy of State Legislature and
State Judiciary and subject to the availability of funds.
“8. Citation: This ORDER may be cited as the Implementation
of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary Order, 2020.
“9. Commencement: This Executive Order shall take effect
from this 20th Day of May 2020.”
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