Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy.
In July 2024, the apex court delivered a judgment in a Federal Government suit seeking to enforce financial independence for local governments.
In a unanimous decision, a seven-member panel declared it unconstitutional for state governments to retain or manage funds allocated to local government areas. The justices also held that the use of caretaker committees effectively places local governments under state control, violating the 1999 Constitution.
At the weekend, during the 15th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Tinubu urged state governors to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. He further warned that failure to honour the verdict could prompt him to issue an Executive Order to ensure direct allocations from the Federation Account to local governments.
Reacting on social media, Atiku accused President Tinubu of politicising the Supreme Court judgment. He alleged that the President’s refusal to act is a calculated move to use compliance with the law as a bargaining chip to pressure opposition governors into the APC.
“At this point, there is no need for threats of Executive Orders,” Atiku said. “All the President needs to do is instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation to enforce the judgment immediately. Anything short of this is a failure of leadership.”
The former vice president, also an African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, wrote: “Your refusal to act is a calculated political move—using obedience to the law as a bargaining chip to force opposition governors into the APC and to keep governors within your party firmly under your control. In doing so, you have reduced the Constitution to a tool of convenience and governance to partisan bargaining. Supreme Court judgments are final, not optional. Persistently refusing to enforce one is a direct breach of the Constitution and a violation of the oath you swore to Nigerians.”
“Your continued inaction sends a clear message that political control matters more than constitutional duty, that party dominance outweighs economic justice, and that regime survival takes precedence over the daily suffering of Nigerians. History will not forget this moment. Nigerians will not either,” he concluded.
