The South West States took one big step towards regional integration over the weekend following the outcome of the meeting of Attorneys-General from the South West States which was held in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
The meeting which was attended by all the Attorneys-General & Commissioners for Justice of the six States, except Oyo State which presently does not have an Attorney-General, deliberated on five agenda items including the Implementation of Financial autonomy for the Judiciaries and legislatures in the South West States of Nigeria; proposals for the amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and harmonization of Laws and Policies of South West States of Nigeria.
On financial autonomy for the judiciary and the legislatures in the South West States, the Attorneys-General reaffirmed the commitment of their States to the agreements reached by their state governors with the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria while commending the South West Governors’ Forum for its proactive steps in the resolution dispute.
The Attorneys-General welcomed the passage of the Judicial (Funds Management) Bill, 2021 by the Ondo and Ogun States Houses of Assembly and the Legislative (Funds Management) Bill, 2021 by the Ekiti, Ondo and Ogun States Houses of Assembly while committing themselves to the timely enactment of the Bills into Laws in their States.
The Attorneys-General also discussed proposals for the amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and reaffirmed their commitment to three main areas of amendment three main areas of Constitutional reform.
Gender Equity and increased participation of women in public life, Fiscal Federalism and the need for a holistic review of the Exclusive legislative list in the 1999 Constitution with emphasis on the need to devolve more legislative items to States, and the establishment of State Police Service to serve as a territorial police force to complement the Nigeria Police in law enforcement in each of the South West States.
However, noteworthy was the resolution of the Attorneys-General to commence the harmonization of Laws and Policies of South West States of Nigeria with the immediate setup of a working Committee to work on the harmonization of Laws and judgments of the high courts of South West States of Nigeria.
According to the Attorneys- General, the meeting “is the unique, essential and indispensable forum for consultations and joint action on all matters related to Law reform and harmonization of Laws in the South West States of Nigeria”
The next meeting of the South West Attorneys-General will be held in Lagos State at a later date.
Present at the meeting were Olawale Fapohunda, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekiti State who hosted the meeting; Akingbolahan Adeniran, Oluwafemi Akande; Sir Charles Titiloye; Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN (who joined virtually) Attorneys-General and Commissioners for Justice, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Lagos States respectively.
Also in attendance were: Mrs Folabimpe Segun-Olakojo, Acting Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Oyo State (who represented the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oyo State) and Saheed Adebisi Quadri, Director, Ministry of Justice, Lagos State (who sat in the meeting for the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State).
Directors and State Counsel from the Ministries of Justice in all the Six States of the South West States of Nigeria observed the meeting.
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