By Aderogba George
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Abuja, July 22, 2020 Rep. Iduma Igariwey, member representing Afikpo North/Afikpo South, Ebonyi has called for constitutional backing to give legitimacy to the state judiciary and legislative autonomy.
Igariwey in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja said the Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari needed constitutional backing.
The lawmaker said though Buhari had recently signed Executive Order 10 to prevent the habit of tampering with the funds of state legislatures and judiciary, it did not go far enough as it was bereft of constitutional flavour.
The lawmaker said the expenditures meant for the State Houses of Assembly and the State High Courts were issued from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State.
He said the state appropriated for the State Houses of Assembly and the Judiciary, adding that this had affected the independence of the state legislature and the judiciary.
He said they were often starved of funds and also made to dance to the whims and caprices of governors.
He said that such lacuna had given room for state governors to push back against the noble intentions of Executive Order 10.
According to him, the alteration of Section 121(3) sought by the lawmaker is intended to charge any amount standing in the credit of the Houses of Assembly and the judiciary of a state.
This, according to him is directly upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation to be paid directly to the Heads of the bodies in the states by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He said such alteration would make the two arms of government at the state level more independent and accountable in line with the tenets of democracy.