The Supreme Court on Friday revealed that the reason it nullified Executive Order 10 by President Muhammadu Buhari is because the country is “run on the basis of rule of law.” Recall that Buhari had in May 2020, signed the order into law.
According to the Apex court, the Nigerian leader overstepped his powers by promulgating such a rule. The order grants financial autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary in the 36 states of the country.
The order also mandates the accountant-general of the federation to deduct from source amount due to state legislatures and judiciaries from the monthly allocation to each state for states that refuse to grant such autonomy.
That order has now been voided by the Supreme Court which ruled Friday in a suit by the 36 states against the federal government. In its ruling, the seven-member panel of Supreme Court judges, in a split-decision of six justices to one, held that the Constitution provides a “clear delineation between the state and federal government.
”“The president has overstepped the limits of his constitutional powers,” the court ruled about the president promulgating Executive Order 10.
“The country is run on the basis of rule of law,” the judges said.
The majority decision adopted the expert opinion of Musibau Adetunbi and Mahmud Magaji, two of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria, invited by the Supreme Court to advise it on the matter. More details later…