National Assembly Grants Local Govt, Judiciary Financial Autonomy

The National Assembly has granted financial autonomy to Local Government and Judiciary.

During the plenary on Tuesday at the Senate, 92 out of the 109 Senators voted in support for the financial autonomy to the local government areas in the country while 88 voted to pass administrative autonomy of LGAs.

At the Green Chamber, the House of Representatives members also voted for financial and administrative autonomy for local government, State Legislature and Judiciary.

Earlier, Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Ovie Omo-Agege, had presented a report on the amendment bill before voting commenced.

In his remarks, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said that senators will use electronic voting and not the voice-vote method they use for the confirmation of nominees and the passing of bills and motions.

Lawan said only bills that are passed in both chambers of the national assembly will be sent to the state houses of assembly.

He said: “For today’s exercise, we will use electronic voting. We have tested the system and it is working.

“Omo-Agege will present the report. We will listen to his presentation and we can take comments and we will thereafter go into the voting process.

“I will announce the bill then we will take it as it is presented in the report and senators will each register with our cards.

”It will take us 30 seconds to vote. You will press the button for registration. Then there is registration, ‘Yes, no and abstain’. Voting will take another 30 seconds.

“If you don’t vote within 30 seconds, you have lost your vote. If a bill passes in the senate and the house, such bill would have passed in the national assembly and will be sent to states.

“If a bill passes in the senate but fails to pass in the house, that bill is dead – and vice versa.”