Majority Leader wants full financial autonomy for state assemblies

The Majority Leader of Kogi House of Assembly, Alhaji Yakubu Yunusa, has called for full financial autonomy for state legislative assemblies to enable them to play their constitutional roles effectively.

Yunusa, who made the call in an interview with NAN on Monday in Lokoja, said that such autonomy would engender transparent and accountable governance through effective check and balances.

He said that the legislature, in addition to its constitutional mandate of making laws for effective administration and good governance, was saddled with the oversight functions on other arms.

“The mandate given to us as a legislature is to make laws for peace, order and good governance of the state and through the process, bring succour to our people,” he said.

The lawmaker said that the forum of assembly speakers in the country, had last week at a meeting taken a position to ensure financial autonomy of the legislature.

He said that the legislature was tired of “going cap-in-hand” to the executive to beg for funds.

He appealed to Gov. Idris Wada to quickly assent to the assembly’s Service Commission and Self-Accounting status bills passed by the house but were awaiting his assent.

“It is our humble request that full financial independence be given to the house for effective performance of its functions. We desire the governor’s timely response in this regard,” he said.

On the performance of the third legislative session of the fifth assembly which ended on June 4, the legislator said the house sat for 197 days as against 181 provided for in the constitution.

Yakubu said the house considered a total of 22 bills comprising 16 executive and six private member bills, adding that 12 of them were passed while 10 were pending at committee stage.

He also said that the house had during the period deliberated on 50 substantive motions and 40 matters of urgent public importance emanating from various constituencies on diverse challenges.

The majority leader said that the current assembly complex had become inadequate for modern legislative business.

He called on the state government to construct a new assembly complex with communication equipment for effective deliberation.