After pressure from govs, Buhari delays gazetting of Executive Order on autonomy for state legislatures, judiciary

TRACKING____Pressured by state governors, President Muhammadu Buhari has agreed to delay the gazetting of Executive Order 10, which he recently signed, to grant autonomy to state legislature and judiciary.

This followed a meeting at the presidential villa on Monday hosted by the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.

At the meeting were the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi) as well as Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

Speaking after the meeting, Dr. Fayemi told State House correspondents that after listening to their concerns about the constitutionality of the Executive Order, President Buhari agreed that the gazetting of the order would be delayed.

He said: “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.

“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.”

Fayemi further revealed 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.