Law Personality Interview On Justice Peter Umeadi, Former Chief Justice of Anambra State and APGA Presidential Aspirant
Exerpts:
LAW PERSONALITY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
What is your view on Governors resistance to the autonomy and financial independence for the judiciary and States legislature?
I see that the Governors are playing a game of convenience. Only a few States are able to sustain themselves. Many states are owing back log of salaries. I copied the quote below from a platform I belong to “Government can’t be about paying salaries or pension. If the population is approximately 5 million: Civil Servants census 45,000; pensioners 205,000 (plus dead and ghost pensioners). So if government cater for 250,000 staff and ex staff what happens to the remaining 4.750 million?” The author should know as he was Secretary to State Government at one point. The Governors hold on to State finances meant for the other arms of government for survival. The Governors also hold the funds of the Local Government Councils. All they do is pay salaries to staff and spend the rest without recourse to the Councils. They also collect and hold and spend monies from entities under the constitutional control of the Local Government Councils, contrary decision of courts of competent jurisdiction. See (a) Suit No. 0/265/2004 Chief (Prof.) A.N.A. Modebe & 10 Ors v Igwe Okonkwo of Amansi: Ex parte (1) Lazarus Uba (2) Innocent Iwuagwu delivered on 23/72004 by Umeadi J (as he then was) unreported: pp 19-32 The Day the Eagle Emerged; The legal works of Hon. Justice Peter N.C. Umeadi. Selected Ruling Judgements and Reviews (b) Knight Frank & Rutely Nig. v Attorney General Kano State (1998) 7NLR P.19 . I venture to say that the day authentic full financial autonomy for the arms of government is realized, many wrong things would normalize. Every arm of government would cut their coats according to their size. The restructuring everyone is clamoring for would be waiting for us at dawn.
