Dare Babalola
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of deliberately ignoring a binding Supreme Court judgment directing the Federal Government to implement direct Financial Allocation and Fiscal Commission (FAAC) allocation to local governments.
In a press release on Wednesday, the former presidential candidate described the administration’s inaction as “not delay, but defiance”.
Atiku alleged that Tinubu’s refusal to act is a calculated move to use obedience to the law as a bargaining chip to force opposition governors into the All Progressives Congress (APC) and to keep governors within the party under his control. He stated that this has reduced the Constitution to a tool of convenience and governance to partisan bargaining.
The former Vice President emphasized that Supreme Court judgments are final and not optional, and persistently refusing to enforce one is a direct breach of the Constitution and a violation of the oath Tinubu swore to Nigerians.
He noted that local governments are the closest arm of government to the people, and withholding their financial autonomy is crippling communities, stalling development, and deepening poverty at the grassroots.
Atiku’s statement reads, “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.”
He also stated, “Local governments are the closest arm of government to the people. By withholding their financial autonomy (which ironically you’ve been trumpeting as a core cardinal policy), you are not weakening governors, you are crippling communities, stalling development, and deepening poverty at the grassroots.”
Also, Atiku lamented that roads remain broken, health centres abandoned, and salaries unpaid, not by accident, but by choice. He stated that the solution is simple, “instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation to enforce the judgment immediately”.
“This situation does not require threats of Executive Orders or political drama,” he said.
Atiku further stated that Tinubu’s continued inaction sends a clear message that political control matters more than constitutional duty, party dominance matters more than economic justice, and regime survival outweighs the daily suffering of Nigerians. “Nigeria deserves leadership that obeys the law it swore to protect, not one that bends it for political gain,” he said.
The former Vice President warned that history will not forget this moment, and Nigerians will not either. He called on Tinubu to take immediate action to enforce the Supreme Court judgment and ensure financial autonomy for local governments.
