The Nigeria Governors Forum on Monday met the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, on the Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari last month.
The chairman of the Forum, Kayode Fayemi, led the governors’ delegation which included the Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal, to the meeting.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, also attended the meeting.
The Executive Order 10 gives autonomy to the state legislature and judiciary.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Fayemi ruled out court action against the President for signing the Executive Order as being speculated in some quarters.
He disclosed that President Buhari had agreed to delay the gazetting of the Executive Order 10 till after listening to the concerns raised by the governors on the modalities for the implementation of the Executive Order.
He said: “We have a delegation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum here to discuss some matters of fundamental importance to the nation and the President has asked that we meet with the Attorney General, the Chief of Staff and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the issue.
READ ALSO: Malami defends Buhari’s Executive Order No. 10
“It is an issue that has seized the interest of many of you in the media and a lot of people in the federation; it is about the autonomy of the state legislature and the judiciary.
“We have met with the President before now on it and the President was very pleased that for us as governors, we are all united in support of the autonomy of the state judiciary and the legislature; that’s the position of the 36 governors of the federation.
“What is an issue is on the constitutionality of the modalities of what had been put in the Executive Order and the President was gracious enough to say okay, given your concerns about that we will delay the gazetting of the order and allow you meet with the Attorney General and the Minister of Finance out work out the modalities.”
Fayemi added that the governors had since embarked on consultations with the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in order to work out an amicable resolution of the matter.
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