Assembly Speakers Urged Buhari On Full Implementation Autonomy For State Legislatures

The speakers of the 36 state Houses of Assembly have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to issue an executive order on the implementation of full autonomy for state legislatures.

The demand top the agenda of the meeting between Buhari and the speakers held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.

The meeting started at about 11.00 a.m.

The speakers were led by the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa.

Obasa is the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly.

The agenda of the meeting is unknown.

Speaking with State House Correspondents after the meeting, Obasa said though the amended 1999 Constitution had incorporated the independence and financial autonomy for state legislatures, it was not being implemented in many states.

He explained that a presidential intervention by way of an executive order would fast-track the implementation across the Federation.

“So, we are urging Mr President to intervene and speed up the implementation.

“We urged the President to come in with an executive order for this implementation to move faster,” Obasa stated.

The speakers also called for the devolution of powers to the states and local governments through a review of the Exclusive Legislative List.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Abba Kyari, are also attending the meeting.