Tambuwal seeks financial autonomy for state assemblies

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Monday sought financial autonomy for state legislatures to guarantee the independence of lawmakers at the second tier of government.Tambuwal, who addressed a workshop for speakers of the 36 state Houses of Assembly in Abuja, advised the legislators to ensure that the issue was listed as an item in the upcoming review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).The speaker observed that financial autonomy would free state legislators from the apron strings of state governors, giving them the courage to perform their duties.He was represented by his Deputy, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha.Incidentally, the same state legislatures had rejected the autonomy granted to them by the Sixth National Assembly during the last constitution review in 2010.Some states refused to endorse the recommendation of the National Assembly on the matter, with the result that overall, they could not secure the mandatory 24-state approval.Tambuwal had blamed the development on some state governors, who allegedly arm-twisted their state Houses of Assembly and mounted pressure on them not endorse the proposal.He noted, "The three arms of government have undergone grossly inequitable developmental opportunities as a result of intermittent military intervention in governance. "It is the legislature that is the worst victim, suffering total disbandment together with its bureaucracy at every such interregnum. "The consequence of this intermittent disbandment is that the legislature is the most unknown, most misunderstood and most vilified of the three arms of government in Nigeria either due to genuine innocent ignorance or deliberate mischief by civilian or civilianising leaders, politicians and analysts still hooked to ethos of dictatorship and gullibly supported by their co-travellers."The speaker told the gathering that the executive and the electorate had always misrepresented the legislature as arm of government that was not needed."The legislature is not meddling in governance; the legislature needs the breathing space to diligently perform its constitutional functions," he added.The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who delivered the keynote address at the event, expressed concern over the high turnover of members of the National Assembly and state legislators at every election.
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