The commissioner for justice and attorney general of Sokoto State, Barr. Nasiru Mohammed Binji, has given reasons why some laws in the state were recently amended by the State House of Assembly and also assented to by the governor, Dr Ahmed Aliyu.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with journalists in Sokoto, Barr. Binji said the amendments became necessary to ensure that the bodies created by the laws function effectively and serve their purpose.
According to him, some of the agencies were created by a past administration in the state but could not function effectively because the laws establishing them did not empower them to function effectively.
He said some of the establishments should have been created as agencies but were instead created as commissions, adding that the development affected their performance and supervision.
“Let me begin by talking about three laws: the Discrimination against Persons with Disability Commission’s Law, the Zakat and Endowment Commission’s Law, and the Tenancy Control and Safety of Persons Commission Law.
“These three laws were styled by the immediate past administration as commissions, whereas by their functions, they can only function as government agencies.
“The law created a problem for them; being commissions, they are independent, autonomous, and they were not under the supervision of any ministry,” he said.
According to him, the relevant ministries needed to supervise the establishments, which is why their establishment laws were amended.
“We thought that for efficiency and accountability, we should appropriately designate them as government agencies under the supervision of certain ministries.
“Going by the provision of Section 197 of the 1999 Constitution there are only three statutory commissions for each state of the federation. Had it been the makers of the Constitution wanted all agencies of state to be commissions, they would have expressly stated so without any ambiguity.
“Under the 1999 Constitution, as amended under Section 197, there are statutory commissions- the State Independent Electoral Commission, the State Civil Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission, which are styled as commissions. They are independent, going by their nature and their work.
“You must agree with me that the State Independent Electoral Commission must be independent of any supervision by any state ministry for it to function effectively, for the opposition party to have faith in its impartiality,” he said.
Binji noted that the laws establishing the bodies had to be amended to allow proper supervision by the relevant ministries.
“These three laws that were styled by the former administration as commissions before the coming of the Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto administration can only function as agencies. There is no doubt that their operations were hampered. As commissions, there were no checks and balances, and in some instances, some of the chairmen were acting as sole administrators,” Binji stated.
