FINANCIAL AUTONOMY: DELTA STATE JUDICIARY GUARANTEED FULL AUTONOMY
The 18th day of May 2021 saw the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, granting full autonomy to the Delta State Judiciary as prescribed by law. This decision was communicated by the Governor to the Chief Judge of the State, when the latter, along with other judges of the State, paid the Governor a courtesy visit. The visit of the Chief Judge was among several activities marking His retirement from service, having served the State as Chief Judge since 2015.
The Governor’s decision came at the peak of the ongoing nationwide strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) over the non-implementation of the Financial Autonomy. There has been back and forth in the course of negotiation. Despite the Fourth Alteration of the Constitution and the subsequent issuance of Executive Order No. 10 by the President to give effect to the full implementation of financial autonomy to the Judiciary of the States, there has been difficulty in the implementation of full autonomy, particularly from the Governors.
You will recall that the Governors have proposed among others the creation of a State Account Allocation Committee (SAAC) to oversee the distribution of funds to the three arms of government at the state level while JUSUN has insisted that funds meant for the state judiciaries should be deducted directly from the federation account and paid to the heads of courts through the National Judicial Council.
There is no gainsaying that the implementation of financial autonomy of judiciary would strengthen the institution and make it more independent, functional and accountable in line with the tenets of democracy. With this recent development from Delta State, the State Judiciary can now enjoy the full benefits of financial autonomy. This is highly commendable and it is hoped that other State Governors will follow suite.
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