Speakers advocate financial autonomy for state Assemblies


Chairman conference of speakers of state houses of assemblies of Nigeria Abubakar Suleiman has advocated financial autonomy for state assemblies across the federation.


Suleiman who is the speaker of the Bauchi state assembly made the advocacy in a chat with newsmen in Bauchi.


He argued that apart from deepening democracy, financial autonomy for houses of assemblies will help them to be more independent and enable it to checkmate excesses of the executive arm.


” If we have that independence, we will be able to checkmate the executive to ensure that what we appropriate is what they are spending, and not just spending it, but spending it according to the appropriation law”. He opined.


The speaker pointed out that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria section 131(2) already granted the Legislature and Judiciary financial autonomy. 


He decried that governors who are meant to implement it at the state levels, usually claim that they are not against the autonomy but against issuance of executive order No. 10.


“The insinuation is that governors are not in support of financial autonomy, but when we come face to face with them, we are meant to understand that they are not against financial autonomy.


” What they are against is issuance of executive order No.10 which they say is like indictment on them”, he said. 


Meanwhile, Abubakar Suleiman revealed that he will be hosting the 36 speakers of the federation in Bauchi on Friday this week where they will deliberate among others the insecurity issues bedeviling the nation.

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