The Lagos State Chapter of Accord Party on Tuesday declared support for the ongoing nationwide industrial action by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Dele Oladeji, said that financial autonomy for the legislature and judiciary was sacrosanct for good governance.
“For us in Accord Party, the refusal of governors to grant state legislature as well as state judiciary and local government financial autonomy is an anomaly and something we have always stand against.
“We want the judiciary and legislature to be independent of the executive arm of government. The financial autonomy of the judiciary and legislature is sacrosanct.
“For any virile government, there must be independence of the legislature and the judiciary. So, we support the speedy and unconditional implementation of the financial autonomy for legislature all over the country.
“In Accord Party, we support this strike by PASAN and all necessary pushes toward its actualisation. The autonomy is what we have been pushing for in governance, having institutions that will be answerable to the people.”
According to him, the refusal of the state governors in implementing the financial autonomy for the state legislature goes a long way to show that some governors do not support true democracy.
“There cannot be any true development or progress for any state or the country when the legislature is imprisoned or tied to the rope of the executive in a way that we have it in the country.
“The legislative arms go cap in hand to the state house to beg for allocations. No true democracy can thrive in such a situation, atmosphere and society.
“It is high time the whole Nigeria, not even PASAN alone, the labour force, the civil society organisations and all go on strike because this has gone a long way to jeopardise every democratic push for excellence.
“A governor who has no check on his activities and policies will always act and govern arbitrarily. The whole state, no matter the number of millions they are, are at his whims and caprices,” he added.
NAN recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari on May 22, 2020 signed an Executive Order into Law to grant financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary across the 36 states of the country.