Senior members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have
asked President Muhammadu Buhari to invoke Executive Order 10 against state
governors as a way of compelling them to respect the nation’s constitution and
the rule of law on Separation of Powers.
The Senior Advocates of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja lambasted
the state governors over their alleged disregard of the Supreme law of the
country.
At a briefing to formally endorse the indefinite nationwide
strike by the Judiciary workers, the senior lawyers praised the federal
government for allowing separation of powers among the three arms of the
government at the federal level.
Joe Gadzama and Yakubu Maikyau both Senior Advocates, who
addressed the media condemned state governors for their alleged deliberate
refusal to obey and protect the constitution as it relates to the separation of
powers at the state level and urged President Buhari to bring them to the right
track.
“We as senior lawyers in this country have decided to come
out and lend our voice and support to the ongoing strike by the judiciary
workers against the state governors.
It is unfortunate that the state governors have turned themselves
into bad examples on the issue of separation of powers as enshrined in our
constitution, Chief Gadzama said.
“The governors have no business buying cars for judges and
building houses for the judicial officers. Separation of powers as enshrined in
the constitution does permit that kind of acts of illegality.
“Governors must allow the judiciary to be truly autonomous
and financially independent from the executive arm at the state level as being
practised at the federal level.
Gadzama said the senior lawyers as Ministers in the temple
of justice, stand by the national president of the NBA, Olumide Akpata and will
continue to rally around the judiciary workers until their demands are fully
met.
The senior lawyers had earlier blocked the entrance of the
National Assembly in their bid to take their protest against the
non-implementation of financial autonomy of the Judiciary to the leadership of
the senate.
The body noted that whatever affects the judiciary also
affects them and will leave no stone unturned until governors comply with the
separation of powers.
However, a police officer who attended to the group
explained that without a formal notification they would not be allowed access
to the National Assembly, adding that there is also no official on ground to
attend to them.
The protesting lawyers led by the first Vice President of
the NBA, Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins, however, stood at the entrance of the
National Assembly for over three hours insisting there would be no entry nor
exit until they were allowed in.
Aikpkpo-Martins said they were on a mission because it
tallies with the NBA motto which is promoting the rule of law and independence
of the Judiciary.
He lamented that governors have refused to cooperate despite
all entreaties to obey the provisions of the constitution on financial
autonomy, adding that all attempts to make them see reasons have failed, hence
the protest.
Aikpokpo-Martins while noting that the federal government
has already complied with the constitutional provisions, said they decided to
come to the National Assembly to urge its leadership to prevail on the
governors to comply and obey various Courts’decisions in favour of financial
autonomy of the Judiciary.
He said it would be in the best interest of the nation for
the governors to obey the laws of the land, emphasising that all over the
country, NBA branches are meeting with governors to urge them to comply with
the constitutional provisions on the financial autonomy of the Judiciary,
adding that they were at the National Assembly to also urge them to speak with
the executive to prevail on the governors to comply just like the federal
government.
“We are aware that governors are seeking to negotiate, we
are against it”, he said, “we want to pass a message across that you have no
right to negotiate provisions of the constitution”.
Martins said what must be done is for the governors to obey
the constitution and judgments of the courts which were not appealed against or
vacated.
He disclosed that Executive Order 10 was a product of an
all-inclusive meeting of all stakeholders in the judiciary including the
governors before it was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last year.
While urging the federal government to garnishee the
accounts of state governments and pay directly to the respective state
judiciaries, he said failure to do so will not only amount to a betrayal of the
people but will portray them as accomplices.
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