NGF to engage AGF on financial autonomy for states’ judiciary, legislature

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has said that its Legal Committee would engage the Attorney-General of the Federation to reflect on the implications of the recently passed Executive Order 10, 2020 on governance at the sub-national level.

The forum disclosed this in a communiqué signed by its Chairman and Governor of Ekiti, Dr Kayode Fayemi, issued to mewsmen on Thursday in Abuja, after its 9th COVID-19 teleconference meeting held on Wednesday.

The NGF Legal Committee, according to the communiqué, comprises the governors of Sokoto State Plateau and Ondo State.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Friday signed into law an executive order, granting financial autonomy to the legislative and judicial arms across the 36 states of the country.

The order also mandated the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct from source, amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.

It stated that the governors also at the meeting deliberated on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The governors also resolved to interface with the Economic Sustainability Committee chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, to incorporate the contributions of state governments in the Economic Sustainability Plan as a national response to the COVID-19 crisis.

This, according to the communiqué, will be done through the NEC Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee on COVID-19 comprising the governors of Kaduna State as chairman, with governors of Kebbi, Ebonyi, Ogun, Nasarawa State, Edo and Jigawa as members.

It noted that the NGF chairman briefed the governors on coordination activities with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, multilateral and bilateral partners and the private sector through the Coalition Against COVID-19 that were targeted at improving the COVID-19 response of the state governments.

It added that the governors also received brief from Ebrima Faal, Senior Director of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Nigeria on the one billion dollar COVID-19 crisis facility and update from Zouera Youssoufou, Managing Director of Aliko Dangote Foundation on activities of the coalition.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum thereafter resolved to “interface with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, on the billion COVID-19 crisis facility approved for the country at the request of the Federal Government by the AfDB, to embark on the delivery of projects that will meet the needs of Nigerians in health emergency assistance, agriculture and food security, among others.