Financial Autonomy For Judiciary Not Possible In Nigeria – Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike says financial autonomy for the judiciary is not possible in Nigeria.

Gatekeepers News reports that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Southern Nigeria says the current system of governance in the country does not give room to financial autonomy of the judiciary.

The fourth alteration to the constitution gave financial autonomy to both the States Legislative and Judicial arm of Government in 2018. This was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, 8 June 2018.

Governors have acted in breach of the constitution. This prepared the ground for President Buhari to sign executive order 10, which was to strengthen implementation of the constitutional provision.

However, Governors raised concern over the constitutionality of the order and the non-implementation has led to a nationwide strike by the members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) in April.

As part of efforts to resolve the matter, representatives of the presidential implementation committee on financial autonomy met with JUSUN and State Governors in May to sign an agreement to enhance the autonomy.

On Tuesday, Gatekeepers News reported that the Judiciary Workers lamented that the autonomy is yet to be implemented, adding that their strike continues.

However, Wike while speaking at the commissioning of the industrial court judges quarters in Rivers, on Thursday, said there will be challenges with the implementation, since the executive is responsible for presenting the budget to the legislature and not the judiciary.

He said, “The constitution recognises three tiers of government — the federal government, the state government, and the local government. Under the federal government, we have the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, and the executive is the only arm that can present the budget to the legislature. The judiciary cannot.

“It is the head of the executive that has the responsibility to present the state expenditure. The executive, legislature, and judiciary will put their budget together for the executive to present to the legislature. It is the executive that will still sign it before it becomes implementable, except the legislature overrides it by a two to the third of majority.

“Things that they are telling you on financial implementation of the autonomy of judiciary and legislature is a lie, and they know it is not correct. We are practising the federal system and I am not bound by any presidential implementation committee.”