The National Assembly NASS has vowed that the separation of power among the three arms of government in Nigeria will be totally enforced ahead of the 2023 general elections and change of government.
Fillers from the chambers indicate that as a starting point, the Nigerian judiciary arm will no longer submit its yearly budget proposal through the executive arm as has been the practice over the years.
Under a new Bill in the offing, the judiciary will now have the opportunity of presenting its budget directly to the National Assembly as is done by the Executive arm through the incumbent President.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Luke Onofiok dropped the hint at the ongoing Justice Sector Summit 2022 organized by the Nigerian Bar Association NBA alongside some stakeholders in Abuja.
The lawmaker said the two chambers of the National Assembly have agreed to make the separation of powers absolute to put a permanent end to the usual bickerings occasioned by overlapping functions among the three arms of government.
“As part of our bold efforts in the National Assembly to eradicate bickering arising from overlapping functions, the two Chambers will soon pass a bill that would make the judiciary submit its yearly budget direct to the National Assembly instead of the current practice system of channelling it through the Executive arm.
“If we are talking of separation of powers among the three arms of government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, it has to be absolute, it has to be total for the aims and objectives to be achieved even though we will still collaborate with one another”
“How can the judiciary be said to be independent when the arm still has to submit its budget proposal to the National Assembly through another arm. It is an aberration and the new law will adequately take care of that before this government hands over power in 2023”.
Onofiok also revealed that the proposed bill will put an end to the incessant reckless intimidation of judicial officers by the security operatives.
The lawmaker, who recalled with regret what a Judge passed through by way of intimidation in Nasarawa State disclosed that the new Bill will give adequate protection to the judiciary.
