Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has sued for a closer working relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of government at the state level in order to promote good governance, ensure political stability and foster sustainable economic growth.
Okowa made the call on Saturday while declaring open the 2021 second quarter general meeting of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria holding in Asaba.
He commended the Speaker and members of the Delta State House of Assembly for taking the initiative to host this event, which had become a notable feature of the nation’s current democratic dispensation.
The Governor noted that it was gladdening to see Speakers of the thirty-six State Houses of Assembly in the country regularly come together to share experiences, thoughts, and ideas on how to enthrone a robust democratic culture that would move the country forward.
Okowa said the over twenty years of unbroken democratic rule.and the significant progress made in executive-legislature relations, especially after the initial hiccups in the early years of the Fourth Republic were instructive of the commitment of the democratic institutions to ensuring that democracy thrived.
He said in Delta the relationship between his administration and the Legislature had been one of respect for separation of power, cooperation, and trust, even as he admitted that there had been moments of disagreement but whenever this occurred, engagement in proper dialogue, rather than open confrontation, were adopted to reconcile perceived differences.
The Governor revealed that Delta State was one of the first states to implement financial autonomy for the Legislature with the enactment of the Delta State House of Assembly Fund Management (Financial Autonomy) Law, 2019, adding that some amendments to the law were being proposed to align it with current realities.
Okowa enumerated the achievements of his administration in all sectors of the state’s economy, which he noted would not have been possible without the House of Assembly effectively playing its role and working in strong partnership with the Executive to enable it deliver on its policy mandates in the face of challenging economic circumstances.
He expressed the hope that the partnership would continue to wax stronger and encouraged the Speakers’ body to redouble its efforts to work for greater synergy between the Executive and the Legislature in a way that the States could develop sustainably and democracy strengthened.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Hon. Abubakar Suleiman, said Delta was one of the few states in Nigeria used as a reference point on the issue of autonomy for State Legislatures and the Judiciary and commended Governor Okowa for the feat.
Suleiman said the two – month strike by Judicial and Parliamentary staff would not have been necessary if other states had shown the same support as Delta did.
He acknowledged the massive development strides of the Delta State Governnent, which would not have been possible without the support of the State Legislature under the leadership of Hon Sheriff Oborevwori.
In his welcome address, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and Deputy Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, said in the comity of states, Delta enjoyed relative peace, in spite of insecurity plaguing parts of the country.
“We must give thanks to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for the steps he took to secure the state,’’ he stated.
Oborevwori said participants at the conference would discuss issues bothering the nation and proffer solutions for peace, order and good governance in the country.
He said the Delta House of Assembly had been enjoying autonomy since 2019 and called for further strengthening of the executive-legislature relations in the country.
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