On Friday, May 22, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari signed an executive order granting financial autonomy to states legislature and judiciary in Nigeria.
In a statement issued by the office of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the executive order means that the legislative and judicial arms of government across the 36 states in Nigeria, will no longer be tied to the governors, and will receive their financial allocations straight from the centre.
The order read: “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). Article 6 (1) provides that:
“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 Court.”
