By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The 36 state governors have resolved to grant autonomy to the Legislature and the Judiciary in line with Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in May last year.
However, the governors gave two conditions to facilitate the implementation of the decisions. The two conditions given by the state chief executives are the immediate stoppage of the ongoing strike by judicial workers and the dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Autonomy of State Legislature and Judiciary.
According to the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), ending the strike would enable states to fine-tune the legal framework to back the decisions and implementation.
The governors accused the Committee of “acting as a permanent committee basically misguiding and overheating the relationship between State Governments and the other arms of government.”
These positions were taken at a meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), presided over by its Chairman and Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi on Wednesday.
Other decisions reached at the meeting include the need to achieve debt limit and sustainability as well as support for the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector/withdrawal of subsidy.
Nevertheless, it was gathered that the ‘Asaba Declaration’ issued after the Southern governors meeting was not discussed at the NGF meeting “because it was not on the agenda.”
The Asaba summit endorsed restructuring, national dialogue, total ban on open grazing and review of revenue allocation.
A governor said: “Most of the demands in the so-called Asaba Declaration had been endorsed by the NGF since March. There was no need to revisit them.”
The communique of the meeting, which was signed by Dr. Fayemi, focused on several matters of national concern and how to reduce tension.
The NGF communique reads in part: ”On the Executive Order 10, talks have reached an advanced stage with the Ministry of Labour, Conference of Speakers, National Judicial Council and the NGF.
“ All parties are working earnestly to resolve the issues surrounding the implementation of the order.
“ There are however legal aspects of the order that need to be tied up, but which cannot take place if officials responsible for these final processes are on strike.
“Governors are happy to implement the demands of the Judiciary and the Legislature.”
On the industrial disharmony in Kaduna State, NGF held that although the governors pledged to mediate in the face-off between Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Labour, they however resolved to stand by the governor.
The Forum said:” On the Labour crisis in Kaduna State, the NGF noted that it stands with the Governor of Kaduna State in his quest to improve the productivity of workers and their rights for a better quality of life.
“NGF recognises that what is happening in Kaduna State, will reverberate in each of the States and encourages the Governor of Kaduna and all other governors to remain steadfast in the pursuit of human rights protection while ensuring that actions taken do not undermine the safety and security of lives.
“NGF appeals to both parties in Kaduna State to resolve the issues in the interest of the State as the protection of human rights for the collective good of all citizens and growth of our dear country, Nigeria, is what matters most.”