The Edo State House of Assembly recently became the centre of a joint demonstration by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).
Members of the associations rallied against legislative efforts they believed would alter the state’s financial autonomy framework for the judiciary and legislature.
The protest was triggered by two items listed on the House Order Paper of August 24, which mentioned “repeal” alongside “Judiciary Financial Autonomy.” The items were a “Bill to Repeal the Edo Judiciary Financial Autonomy Law, 2023” and a “Bill to Repeal the Edo House of Assembly Funds Management Law, 2023.”
For PASAN members and lawyers, the word “repeal” signalled a possible return to the pre-2021 era when the Executive controlled the purse of both arms of government.
Led by Chairman Umaru Farouk-Haruna, PASAN members took over the chamber for several hours, preventing lawmakers from sitting. “If the lawmakers do not want the autonomy, PASAN members want it. They should not tamper with the autonomy granted by the former Governor, Godwin Obaseki,” he said.
The protesters expressed fear that any repeal would lead to salary cuts and possible job losses. For them, financial autonomy represents dignity and predictability.
The Chairman of the NBA Benin Branch, Idemudia Iredia-Osifo, described the proposed move as “embarrassing” and said there was panic among the public.
“The NBA is interested in the outcome of this process… and we do not support the withdrawal of the autonomy enjoyed by these two institutions. We are going back to a time of hardship, a time of mistrust,” he stated.
Former NBA Chairman Ede Asenoguan described the matter as a constitutional issue. He noted that the laws had made provisions for each arm of government to enjoy financial autonomy and that any plan to remove it was not in the interest of the state or its development.
Speaker Yekini Idiaye, who addressed the agitated crowd, clarified that the laws were to be amended and not repealed. Speaking to journalists after plenary, he said: “I was reading an old paper. If you concentrated very well, you would have seen it. Then, I told you it was the old one, but now I have taken the fresh one; so, it was not repeal. It is an amendment.”
Idiaye insisted that the House had no intention of rolling back autonomy. “We are not reversing the autonomy. We are all beneficiaries of autonomy,” he said.
According to the Speaker, the proposed amendment is narrow in scope and targets only the capital and project aspect of the funds. He explained that some projects had not been executed and that the House was considering the creation of an agency to monitor the release of funds, execution, and supervision of all capital projects for both the Legislature and Judiciary.
The NLC in Edo also joined the protest. The NLC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Prof. Monday Igbafen, declared that labour would resist any bill seeking to repeal or amend the Assembly and Judiciary Autonomy Law of 2021. He described it as a dangerous setback to the struggle for financial and administrative autonomy of the legislature and judiciary, and called on the Speaker to immediately halt the move.
Chairman of Edo JUSUN, Orien Charles, also stated that the union would not accept repeal or amendments.
Despite the protest, the House proceeded with its legislative business and passed two key bills aimed at strengthening financial autonomy and institutional independence: a Bill for a Law to Amend the Edo House of Assembly Fund Management Law, 2023, and a Bill for a Law to Amend the Edo Judiciary Financial Autonomy Law, 2023.
Majority Leader Sunday Ojezele said strengthening institutions would help curb corruption and fraud while safeguarding institutional autonomy. The Clerk of the House, Mr. Yahaya Omogbai, was directed to transmit clean copies of the two bills to the Governor for assent.
Governor Monday Okpebholo signed both bills into law the same day while receiving the Speaker. The Governor stated that the three arms of government must operate within their constitutional mandates.
For PASAN, NBA, NLC and JUSUN, any change to the 2023 autonomy laws threatens gains made after years of agitation. For the Assembly and the Executive, the amendments are about closing loopholes in capital project execution and improving accountability.
The bills became laws on August 24, but the proposed agency to monitor capital projects has yet to be established. The public now watches to see whether “monitored autonomy” will deliver better results or erode the independence that workers, lawyers and labour unions spent years fighting to secure.