Ogun Parliament Okays Financial Independence for State House of Assembly, Judiciary, Local Govt * Passed Bill for Independent Candidate *Approves Name Change for Egbado North and South

Abeokuta: By Sins ODUNTAN

Published, Friday, July 15, 2022

OGUN STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY has passed the Bills, providing financial independence for State Houses of Assembly, State Judiciary, Local Government and others after it conducted a concurrent voting on the 44 bills transmitted to it by the National Assembly. 

It also authorised the name change for Egbado North and South Local Government Areas amongst others.  

The approval followed the adoption of the report of the Committee of the Whole House chaired by the Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo, as presented by his Deputy, Akeem Balogun, who also moved the motion for its adoption, and was seconded by the Majority Leader, Yusuf Sheriff and supported by other lawmakers.

The report partly reads, “Having carefully listened to the in-depth review of the bills, the stakeholders present at the forum took turn to give their reasons for urging the House to favour all the proposed alterations vide the bills as presented. It is their belief that the democratic tenets in our constitution would be further strengthened as well as deepened. 

All the Stakeholders at the forum unanimously agreed that all the 44 proposed (Bills) alterations considered should be given accelerated concurrence by the House and same transmitted to the National Assembly for onward transmission to Mr. President for his assent, so that the efforts and financial implications put into the 5th Alterations by various stakeholders involved in the exercise will not be wasted and that the principle of separation of powers among the three tiers if government will be guaranteed”. 

The lawmakers at the plenary, after the consideration and adoption of the alteration bills by the Committee of the whole House, embarked on physical voting for each of the bills, ànd was counted by the Clerk and Head of Legislative Service, Deji Adeyemo.

Other bills also passed and approved by the lawmakers included a bill to abrogate the State Joint Local Government Account and provide for a Special account into which shall be paid, all allocations due to Local Government Councils from the Federation Account and from the government of the State; and for related matters, including a bill to establish Local Government as a tier of government and guarantee their democratic existence, tenure.

Others were bills to compel persons to obey or comply with Legislative Summons and that which sought the establishment of State Security Council.

The State Parliament equally passed the bills to establish the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government separate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and of the State Separate from the Office of the Minister of Justice or Commissioners for Justice of a State in order to make the Offices of Attorneys-General independent and insulated from partisanship.

Also, the lawmakers supported the passage of a bill to provide for independent candidacy  in Presidential, Governorship, National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly and Local Government Councils Elections.