Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has intensified calls for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately enforce a landmark Supreme Court ruling granting full financial and administrative autonomy to local government areas across Nigeria. Mr. Abubakar, a prominent opposition figure and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), publicly accused the President of deliberately delaying implementation, alleging a calculated political strategy to leverage the judgment for partisan gain. This significant legal pronouncement, delivered by the apex court in July 2024, unequivocally declared state government control over local council funds and the use of caretaker committees as unconstitutional, setting a crucial precedent for grassroots governance reform and accountability.

The unanimous judgment by the Supreme Court delivered a decisive blow to the long-standing and often contentious practice of state governments managing or retaining funds constitutionally allocated to local government areas from the Federation Account. The ruling unequivocally affirmed that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, mandates direct financial independence for the third tier of government, thereby empowering local councils to manage their resources without undue interference. Furthermore, the court specifically invalidated the appointment of non-elected caretaker committees to administer local councils, asserting that such arrangements undermine democratic principles and place local administrations under direct state control, in violation of constitutional provisions for elected local government structures.

President Tinubu had, in the immediate wake of the Supreme Court’s far-reaching decision, addressed the matter during the 15th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He publicly urged state governors, including those from his own political party, to promptly comply with the landmark ruling. During his address, President Tinubu issued a stern warning, indicating that a persistent failure to adhere to the judgment could compel his administration to take more drastic measures, including the issuance of an Executive Order. This order, he suggested, would ensure that allocations from the Federation Account are disbursed directly to local government areas, effectively bypassing state intermediaries and ensuring direct financial flows.

Reacting sharply and swiftly to President Tinubu’s public comments, Mr. Abubakar utilized his social media platforms to articulate his strong disapproval of the President’s perceived dilatory approach. He emphatically dismissed the notion of an Executive Order as an unnecessary and belated measure, asserting that the President was overtly politicising what should be a straightforward constitutional directive. “At this point, there is no need for threats of Executive Orders,” Atiku stated unequivocally, arguing that the appropriate course of action was both clear and immediate, without room for further deliberation or delay. He maintained that the President’s constitutional role was not to threaten, but to act decisively and without equivocation.

Mr. Abubakar further contended that President Tinubu’s fundamental responsibility was unequivocally to instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to ensure the immediate and robust enforcement of the Supreme Court’s binding judgment. He emphasised that any perceived delay or the pursuit of alternative, less direct approaches constituted a significant lapse in leadership and a dereliction of presidential duty. “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,” Atiku stressed, placing the full onus for immediate implementation directly on the President’s office and his legal team.

The former Vice President escalated his criticism by levelling a serious accusation of deliberate political motivation behind President Tinubu’s perceived inaction. He posited that the President was strategically withholding the full enforcement of the ruling to gain significant political leverage. Mr. Abubakar explicitly accused Tinubu of using the crucial constitutional ruling as a “bargaining chip” to entice opposition governors to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby strengthening the ruling party’s national footprint. Concurrently, he alleged that this delay was also designed to ensure that governors within his own party remained firmly under federal control, solidifying central authority.

In his scathing critique, Mr. Abubakar argued forcefully that such a calculated and prolonged delay amounted to a profound disrespect for the nation’s highest legal authority and the sanctity of the judiciary. He asserted that President Tinubu’s actions effectively reduced the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, to a mere “tool of convenience” and dangerously transformed the solemn process of governance into mere “partisan bargaining.” He reiterated the fundamental and non-negotiable principle that Supreme Court judgments are final, binding, and absolute, underscoring that they are “not optional” and demand immediate and unwavering compliance from all arms and tiers of government without exception.

Mr. Abubakar issued a stark warning regarding the severe and far-reaching implications of the administration’s continued refusal to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy. He stated unequivocally that such sustained inaction constituted a direct breach of constitutional duty and a fundamental violation of the sacred oath of office sworn by the President to uphold and protect the Nigerian Constitution and its people. This assertion underscores the profound gravity of the situation, framing the delay not merely as a policy disagreement but as a significant constitutional transgression with potentially destabilizing consequences for democratic governance and the rule of law in Nigeria.

Concluding his series of strong and pointed statements, the former Vice President cautioned that history would undoubtedly render a harsh and unforgiving verdict on the current administration’s handling of this critically important matter. He warned that the perceived delay, coupled with the alleged political maneuvering, sent a clear and deeply troubling message to the populace: that “political control matters more than constitutional duty.” Mr. Abubakar asserted with conviction that both history and the vigilant Nigerian citizenry would neither forget nor overlook the administration’s stance on this pivotal issue of local government autonomy and the broader principles of constitutional governance.

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Keywords: Local government autonomy, Supreme Court ruling Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, President Bola Tinubu, LG financial autonomy, Caretaker committees Nigeria, Constitutional enforcement, Nigerian governance