(Abuja)
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has said that Presidential Executive Orders were aimed at
complementing existing legislations and ensure inter-agency coordination in the process of implementation.
Speaking on Thursday at the Radio Nigeria programme “Politics Nationwide”, Malami pointed out that Executive Orders were also for ensuring constitutional compliance, complementing existing legislations, ensuring and enhancing operation, enforcement and application of legal
provisions as well as providing necessary supervision required for
enforcement.
This is contained in a statement issued by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu,
Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice made
available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.
Malami added that Executive Orders were naturally intended to
force constitutional compliance which in the case of Section 121(3) of the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria established the
autonomy of the states’ legislatures and judiciary.
“The Executive Order is therefore a necessary tool for the purpose of bringing to
effect such autonomy by way of assigning certain responsibilities, both institutional and otherwise necessary for the purpose of enforcing the autonomy.
“By way of example, therefore, if the Federal Government wants to withhold the resources of a State Government that refuses to comply with the constitutional provision
relating to the autonomy of State Legislatures and Judiciary, then the Federal Government may require the services of
the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
“Similarly, if the government wants the state legislature to be part of the process relating to appropriation, for example, agreement must be reached on the need for the state legislature to be alive to their responsibility,”he said.
Malami explained that for a coordinated institutional support, necessary
and desirable for bringing to effect the operation, enforcement and
application of a constitutional provision Executive Order becames necessary.
The Minister said Executive Order No. 10 was meant to bring about the constitutionality
associated with the autonomy of the state legislature and judiciary.
Malami said the Executive Order No- 10 was also intended to achieve supervisory role by assigning responsibilities
and ensuring proper supervision desired for enforcement and application of autonomy constitutionally granted States legislature and judiciary
Such roles, he said were contained in Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.