President Buhari Approves Financial Autonomy for State Assemblies, Judiciaries

President Buhari Approves Financial Autonomy for State Assemblies, Judiciaries

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed into law the Fourth Alteration Bill which grants financial autonomy to State Judiciaries and Houses of Assembly.

Senator Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), announced this to the State House correspondents on Friday.

Enang said, “I just want to inform you that His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari today assented to the Constitution Fourth Alteration Bill which grants financial autonomy and independence to the Houses of Assembly of the respective states and to the Judiciary of the respective states.

“Therefore upon this signature the amounts standing to the credit of the judiciary are to be now paid directly to the judiciary of those states, no more through the governors and no more from the governors.

“And then the amounts standing to the credit of the Houses of Assembly of the respective states are now to be paid directly to the Houses of Assembly of that state for the benefit of the legislators and the management of the State Houses of Assembly.”

The president also signed a bill to ensure that where a vice president succeeds a president and where a deputy governor succeeds a governor, he or she can no more contest for that office more than once. the president

Buhari’s assent to the fourth alteration bill comes bare days after he signed into law the ‘Not Too Young to Run’ bill, seeking to lower the minimum age for elective offices.

With the new law, the judiciary and legislature of states will be less dependent on state governors.