Kastina state Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, has cautioned legislative assemblies at all levels on the temptation of appointing themselves the judge and the jury in all issues which affect the executive.
The former Speaker, House of Representatives, who expressed support for devolution of power, said the issue of state and local government joint account “is a time bomb.”
He stated these while delivering a lecture titled: “Executive-Legislature Relations and the Challenges of Democratic Consolidation and Development in Katsina state, yesterday at the Institute of Security Studies, Abuja.
“Legislative Assemblies must also resist the temptation to appoint themselves the judge and jury in all issues that affect the executive. Quite often, we have seen how legislative Assemblies in this country arrogate to themselves imaginary powers with which they intimidate and blackmail the executives into doing their biddings.
“Aside being unethical, this is also illegal and an abuse of privileges. Legislatures should and must be understand that they represent the interest of the people not the interest of one or two of their leadership. It is bad for democracy to allow themselves used in such manner,” he said.
On local government joint account with state, he said: “I have advocated that Local government should be autonomous. My government has spent lot money in supporting local government in the state before they could pay salaries between the months of September and June, last year, which won’t be if the LGs are independent.”
On devolution of power, Masari said since 1995 during the Constitutional Conference organised by late Sani Abacha, delegates from Kastina state strongly believed that Devolution of Power was good for the country.
For Masari, the relationship between executive arm of government and the legislature “depends so much on the personalities of their leaders.”
While calling for institutional autonomy, Masari also noted that there should be cooperation without compromising among the arms of government.
The governor cautioned that getting a political power “is not the most important but how to use the power because the power can consume if you don’t know how to use it.”
“As former speaker, I will be the last person to instigate the removal of any speaker. And based on my background as a lawmaker, I don’t want people to say look at him, what he was saying then is different from what he is doing now as governor.”
Also speaking on budget padding, he said “because Nigeria is a developing democracy, the executive should avoid confrontation but engage in dialogue with the lawmakers by ensuring that certain portion is budgeted for during budget planning.”
