Senate approves separation of Attorney-General from Minister, Commissioner of Justice
This amendment is to create an independent office of the attorney-general to insulate it from partisanship.
The amendment will also, among others, redefine the role of the attorney-general, provide a fixed tenure, provide age and qualification for appointment and also a stringent process for the removal of occupant of the office.
At the moment, the Attorney-General of the Federation or of a state is also the minister or commissioner for Justice.
The duties of the attorney-general will among others be to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under any Act of the National Assembly.
In the same vein, the Senate also approved the alteration of section 84 of the Constitution to establish the office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government which will be separate from the Accountant-General of the Federation.
This implies that the Accountant-General of the Federation will cover the three tiers of government, while the other will take care of just the federal government.
The proposed amendments will be considered by the House of Representatives on Thursday and subsequently sent to the 36 state houses of assembly for concurrence.
Source: Premium Times
Source: Premium Times
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