— As Opposition Members Scores Governor, President Buhari High For Being Democratic.
The governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma has been commended for ensuring that the state assembly is financially autonomous.
The commendations are coming at the heels of the motion which was moved and adopted by an unanimous resolution of the house presided over by the speaker of the house Rt. Hon. Paul Emezien, Thursday 24, 2021.
Members of the opposition in the assembly also scored the governor and the president high for being democratic in the implementations of the state assembly’s financial autonomy.
The house noted that “whereas the Parliamentary Association of Nigeria (PASAN) and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) went on strike for more than two (2) months in protest that financial autonomy is not being implemented by the states as
prescribed under Section 121 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria (as amended) and Executive Order No. 10 of 2020;” the governor ensured that full financial autonomy of the state house of Assembly was implemented to deepen democracy in the state.
The resolutions read in parts: “AWARE that the Imo State Chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association (PASAN) which our staff belong to joined in the strike action with other States
Houses of Assembly as resolved by their National Officers;
“Noting that Imo State Government pays one of the highest Assembly running
cost in the country and therefore Imo House of Assembly is not disenfranchised in
any ways
“Noting that even prior to the strike action, the Imo State House of Assembly we
know was enjoying autonomy in the sense that the House of Assembly funds were
paid directly into the bank account of Imo State House of Assembly and disbursed
by the House without interference from the Executive;”
The house took conscious notice “of the fact that the Governor has complied to the Constitution provision in respect of financial autonomy of the Legislature in Imo State as
elucidated above and also noting that almost all the basic steps to achieving this
autonomy have been taken” as basis for their commendations.
It was also further resolved by the house “to urge the Governor to direct the Accountant
General to ensure that the funds for the Legislature including that of the
Commission are paid in promptly into the Assembly account for prompt
disbursement as soon as the state receives its monthly allocation.”