The Imperial Governors •These men have blocked financial autonomy for state legislators

By Thisday's Imam Imam, 07.15.2010

Constitution Amendment

Rejected
•Independent candidature
•Sanction for cross-carpeting
•Diploma as minimum educational qualification Endorsed
•General election to hold in December/January
•Independent funding for INEC, Judiciary, N’Assembly
•Automatic transmission of vacation letter by President, Governors
•No tenure elongation for Governors who win re-run elections

In what can only be interpreted as modern slavery, 16 state houses of assembly have voted against the financial autonomy proposed for them in the amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

It is believed that they could not have done so out of their own freewill, but for the intimidation by their state governors who want to continue to exercise control over the lawmakers.

The governors' aim, it is alleged, is to undermine the principle of separation of powers as well as checks and balances, and checkmate the legislators' oversight function - while also reducing the quality of members of the houses of assembly by retaining the old educational qualification of school certificate.

Section 121 subsection 3 of the amended constitution reads: “Any amount standing to the credit of the House of Assembly or the Judiciary in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State shall be paid direct to: (a) the House of Assembly of the State (b) the heads of the court concerned, respectively.”

This provision was intended to prevent a scenario where state governors would withhold or manipulate the release of the statutory funds meant for the houses of assembly in order to arm-twist them to rubberstamp executive decisions.
A South-west governor recently refused to pay the state lawmakers their salaries because they disagreed with him on the choice of Speakerm

The proposed financial independence for state legislative arm has been effectively knocked off as every provision in the amendment requires at least 24 states to concur with the position of the National Assembly before it can become effective.

The states that refused to concur with the autonomy provision are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, Rivers, Sokoto and Taraba.
By their rules, they cannot change their votes on the rejected provisions except the National Assembly re-sends the amendments to them for reconsideration.

Curiously, the state lawmakers endorsed section 81 which grants financial autonomy to the federal lawmakers.
Ironically, also, the assemblies endorsed financial independence for the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Many of the assemblies are said to have rejected the provision for legislative autonomy because they have cordial relationship with the executive arm of government in their states.

“As such we cannot do anything to undermine that relationship,” one of the lawmakers told THISDAY in Port Harcourt last week.
THISDAY checks revealed that apart from section 121, other sections mostly rejected by the states included Section 65, which seeks to raise the bar of educational qualification for political office holders from school certificate to diploma.

It was gathered that the provision was rejected because most members of the houses of assembly have only school certificates. By endorsing higher qualification, they are automatically excluded from seeking re-election in 2011.

Another provision widely rejected is Section 177, which provides for independent candidates in future elections and Sections 108 and 109, which recommended sanction for cross-carpeting by federal and state legislators to other parties.

On a brighter note, the assemblies agreed that election should should about six months to the expiration of tenures, thereby paving the way for the 2011 general election to hold in either December 2010 or January 2011.

They also agreed that sitting governors who win rerun elections will not stay in office for more than a total of four years (per tenure). A deputy governor or vice-president will automatically step up in acting capacity if the governor/president does not transmit a vacation letter within three weeks.