Executive Order 10 issued by President Buhari, declared unlawful by Supreme Court, Governors' N66bn suit dismissed.

The Supreme Court has declared as unlawful and unconstitutional the Executive Order 10 (EO10) issued by President Muhammadu Buhari on the funding of State Judiciary and Legislature.

President Buhari had in the Executive Order signed on May 22, 2020, made it mandatory for all states to include allocations of both the Legislature and the Judiciary in their Appropriation Laws, in compliance with section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended).

However in the suit marked SC/655/2020, which was filed on September 17, 2020, the 36 States, through their Attorneys-General, queried the legality of the Presidential Executive Order 10.

The EO10 provides among others that the Accountant-General of the Federation shall authorise the deduction from source in the course of Federation Accounts Allocation from the money allocated to any state that fails to release allocation meant for the State Legislature and Judiciary, in line with the financial autonomy guaranteed by Section 121(3) of the Constitution.

This move was, however, rejected by the state governors who demanded the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee and challenged the EO10 at the apex court.