After extensive consultations with stakeholders, President Muhammadu Buhari is to delay the gazetting of Executive Order 10, which he recently signed, giving autonomy to State Legislature and the Judiciary.
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi made this disclosure after a meeting between some Governors and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and the Attorney General of the Federation, General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami
Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari hosted the meeting, which was also attended by Governors Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and his Kebbi State counterpart, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Fayemi who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum told Journalists that after listening to the concerns raised by the governors, the President agreed to delay the gazetting of the order.
“We have a delegation of the governors’ Forum here to discuss some matters of fundamental importance to the nation and the President has asked that we meet with the Attorney General, the Chief of Staff and the Minister of Finance Planning and Budget on the issue,” he said.
Fayemi added that “It is an issue that has seized the interest of many of you in the media and a lot of people in the federation, it is about the autonomy of the State legislature and the judiciary and we’ve met with the President before now on it and the President was very pleased that for us as Governors, we are all united in support of the autonomy of State judiciary and the legislature; that’s the position of the 36 Governors of the federation“.
“What is at issue is on the constitutionality of the modalities of what had been put in the Executive Order and the President was gracious enough to say ok, given your concerns about that we will delay the gazetting of the order and allow you meet with the Attorney General and the Minister of Finance out work out the modalities,” the NGF chair states further.
He disclosed that that the Governors have also been consulting with the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, in order to work out an amicable resolution of the matter.
“In any case, we have been meeting at our level with the conference of Speakers. The Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum; Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto State, was delegated as the Chair of a number of Governors who have gained legislative experience either because they were in the House of Representatives or they were Speakers of State Assemblies, or they were Senators and that committee has been meeting with a delegation of the Conference of Speakers, working out this modalities and we believe that all of that would be settled amicably without any resort to court,” he said.
When asked if they touched on the issue of the forth-coming governorship primaries in Edo State, Fayemi said they were in the State House to discuss strictly the issue of Executive Order 10 and the autonomy of State Judiciary and legislature.
