JUSUN AND PSUN: THE BATTLE FOR FINANCIAL AUTONOMY
By: Ronaldson Diete-Spiff, Esq
The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Union of Nigeria (PSUN) in conjunction with the State Governors have set up modalities for full financial autonomy to be granted to all arms of the government. The resolution followed a reconciliation meeting with the leaderships of the workers unions. The committee on implementation of financial autonomy led by the Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Ngige has stated that the agreement which have been signed is set to take effect upon the signing of the agreement. State Governors having studied and signed the agreement asserted that the respective accounts of each state’s judiciary and legislature is to be credited in line with the 2021 Appropriation Law of each state. The agreement was signed by the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi who doubles as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum on behalf of all governors in Nigeria, while Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto State witnessed the signing of the agreement.
The agreement states that not less than 45 days after the signing of the agreement, states are to pass and assent to the Funds Management Law and also set up implementation structures for the enforcement of the law. It further states that it is mandatory for the Accountant-General of the Federation to disburse appropriated funds directly to the two arms starting with the next federal allocation. It was also resolved by the two labour unions that the ongoing strike will only be called off once the states transfer funds from the federal allocation to the accounts of the Judiciary and Legislature.
Furthermore, it was also included in the agreement that a State Account Allocation Committee will be put in place to give the agreement a legislative backing and see to it that there is an even distribution of resources to each arm of government and that the Commissioners for Finance together with the Accountant-General of the various states will on monthly basis give details to the committee on the revenue performance of each state with a timeline not exceeding seven (7) days after each meeting of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
By the provisions of the third schedule of the Constitution, every state shall enact funds management laws which will grant each arm the power to manage its capital and recurrent expenditure. This contemplates the purchase of vehicles repairs, maintenance construction of legislative buildings etc.
In conclusion, the signing of the agreement is a commendable one notwithstanding that some states such as Delta State have prior to now, adopted and implemented the agreement. The Nigerian Bar Association and other relevant stakeholders who contributed to the drafting and negotiation of the agreement also deserve credit for their efforts in no small measures. It is hoped that the state governments would appropriate funds to the judiciary and the legislature in accordance with the agreed revenue allocation principle when funds from the federal allocation and internally generated revenue are accounted for without subjecting the heads of court to sundry bureaucratic processes. On this note, it is expected that once the implementation begins, the industrial strike will be called off.
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