The Federal Government has said the implementation of financial autonomy for the state legislature and judiciary would commence next week.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige stated this on Thursday night after a conciliation meeting to resolve the strike of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).   Ngige said the striking legislative and judiciary workers would call off their prolonged strike as soon as implementation starts.

Meanwhile the Presidency has heaped encomium on the Minister of Labour and Employment for the swift resolution of the devastating labour crisis that engulfed Kaduna State between Monday, May 17 and Wednesday, May 19 2012.

Secretary of the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Autonomy of the Judiciary and Legislature and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, described Ngige as an excellent labour administrator whose wealth of experience and versatile knowledge of governance at different tiers and arms of government, immensely contributed to the deft resolution of the complex issues involved in the autonomy for the legislature and judiciary.

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Speaking with the press, Ngige said the parties signed a document containing the framework for each of the state governments to grant autonomy to their legislature and judiciary. He noted that governors had studied the document and were in agreement with it, adding that the implementation would commence next week with the distribution of the April allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

He added that whatever comes from FAAC, even the state governments yet to put their fund allocation committees in place, would do so, to ensure that the money goes down there. The meeting ended by 10pm with the adoption and signing of a  Memorandum Of Action(MOA) named  “Implementation of Financial Autonomy for the State Legislature and Judiciary,” which include its article D, upon which the suspension of the strike is predicated  as its implementation is  triggered  as from  Monday May 24, 2021, when the April  FAAC to states is expected to start coming in.

“The Governments of the respective states shall credit the accounts of each state House of Assembly and each State Judiciary with the pro-rata amount due each of the two arms of Government under the 2021 Appropriation for each State in accordance with B (iii) of this Memorandum of Action commencing from April 2021 State Allocation from the State Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as a sign of good faith.  And the B (iii) in reference says “whenever there is revenue shortfall, lower than the budgeted fund, the monthly allocations to each arm of government shall reflect a percentage of the appropriated sum or an irreducible minimum amount to be allocated every month for the purpose of meeting its costs whichever is higher. This percentage will reflect as 100 per cent in Personnel Cost.  The Running Cost and  Capital Cost will be pro-rata of Revenue performance as per the State Appropriation Law. Upon fulfillment of the above,  “ the ongoing Industrial   Action shall be suspended with immediate effect from the date of the agreements contained in this Memorandum of Action (MOA), provided item D above is effected immediately and others effected within the 45 days window as prescribed in this MOA.”

  Ngige described the signing of the document by all parties as historic.  His words: “Perhaps, it will be pertinent to point out to those clamouring for restructuring that this is a fundamental restructuring of the Nigerian Federation. This is a restructuring that has granted autonomy to the state judiciary and legislature. I am happy that we are part of this history making and that we made this history in the life of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari,” he stated.