The Supreme Court yesterday nullified Executive Order 10 initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari to grant financial autonomy to the State Judiciary and Legislature.
The apex court held that Executive Order 10 was inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and therefore unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
Six of the seven members of the panel proceeded to void and set aside the EO10 issued by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The apex court also dismissed the N66 billion suit filed by the state governors against the Federal Government.
The 36 states governors had in the suit sought an order of the court to compel the Federal Government to take up funding of capital projects for State High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal, and Customary Court of Appeal.
They had also applied for an order of the apex court to compel the Federal Government to pay them N66 billion naira, being an amount they have so far spent on capital projects for the three courts.
The governors informed the apex court that the three courts were the courts of the Federation and as such, the funding of their capital project should flow from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the EO10 into law in May 2020 and set up a committee to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for the State Legislature and State Judiciary.
