Malami defends Buhari’s Executive Order No. 10

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said on Thursday the Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari last week was aimed at complementing existing legislation and ensure inter-agency coordination in implementation policies.

A statement issued by his media aide, Dr. Umar Gwandu, said Malami stated this when he featured in a Radio Nigeria programme “Politics Nationwide.”

According to the statement, the AGF insisted that the Executive Order was to ensure constitutional compliance and enhance government operations.

According to Malami, the orders also enhance the application of legal provisions by providing necessary supervision required for enforcement.

He said: “The Executive Order is, therefore, a necessary tool for the purpose of bringing to effect such autonomy by way of assigning certain responsibilities, both institutional and otherwise necessary for the purpose of enforcing the autonomy.

“By way of example, therefore, if the Federal Government wants to withhold the resources of a state government that refuses to comply with the constitutional provision relating to the autonomy of state legislatures and judiciary then the federal government may require the services of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

“Similarly, if the government wants the state legislature to be part of the process relating to appropriation, for example, the agreement must be reached on the need for the state legislature to be alive to their responsibility.”