‘Buhari’s Executive order 10, restructuring for the poor’

John Alechenu, Abuja

A non-governmental organisation, Save the Poor Coalition, on Sunday described the Executive Order 10, 2020, recently signed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as the president’s pro-poor restructuring.

The executive order granted financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary at the state levels.

National Coordinator of the group, Emeka Enechi, said this after a virtual meeting held by members of the SPC.

According to him, the decision to grant financial autonomy to these arms of government at the state level would go a long way to consolidate democracy at the grassroots.

Enechi said, “Save the Poor Coalition, views Executive Order 10, 2020, as restructuring for the poor, in addition the law in no small measure devolves power and consolidates democracy at the grassroot level.

“By granting financial autonomy to state legislature and state judiciary, we urge the Accountant General of the Federation to give effect immediately to this Order. We commend Mr. President and urge the governors to be compliant with Executive Order 10.”

“The elephant in the house of our democracy is a scenario where for the past two decades, state governors regrettably parade themselves as emperors by emasculating the independence of the state legislature and the judiciary.

“It is important to remind us that about 48% of our revenue goes to the states and local councils. The governors who have made themselves Emperors, since the beginning of the 4th Republic, have emasculated both the third tier of government and the legislative and judiciary arms, thereby denying the masses the dividends of democracy.”

He explained that by listing the two arms of government at the state level on the first line charge, state judiciaries as well as Houses as Assembly will be better placed to perform their constitutional functions without let or hinderance.

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