Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of deliberately refusing to enforce a binding judgment of the Supreme Court directing the Federal Government to implement direct allocations to local governments from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
In a strongly worded public statement, Atiku said that by July next year, the Tinubu administration would have spent two full years “deliberately ignoring” the apex court’s ruling, describing the action not as bureaucratic delay but as outright defiance of the Constitution.
“This is not delay. It is defiance,” Atiku said, alleging that the refusal to implement the judgment is a calculated political strategy aimed at pressuring opposition governors to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and tightening control over governors within the ruling party.
According to him, the continued non-enforcement of the judgment undermines the authority of the Supreme Court and reduces constitutional governance to “partisan bargaining.”
“Supreme Court judgments are final, not optional,” Atiku stated. “Persistently refusing to enforce one is a direct breach of the Constitution and a violation of the oath the President swore to Nigerians.”
The former vice president emphasized that local governments, as the tier of government closest to the people, are bearing the brunt of the policy. He argued that denying them financial autonomy has stalled grassroots development and worsened living conditions in rural communities.
“Roads remain broken, health centres abandoned, salaries unpaid—not by accident, but by choice,” he said, adding that the situation contradicts the administration’s public commitment to local government autonomy.
Atiku rejected the need for what he described as political theatrics, such as executive orders, insisting that the solution lies in the immediate enforcement of the court judgment.
“The President only needs to instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation to enforce the judgment immediately,” he said. “Anything short of this is a failure of leadership.”
He further warned that continued inaction sends a troubling signal that political dominance is being prioritized over constitutional duty and economic justice, especially at a time when Nigerians are grappling with economic hardship.
“Nigeria deserves leadership that obeys the law it swore to protect, not one that bends it for political gain,” Atiku concluded. “History will not forget this moment. Nigerians will not either.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency has not issued an official response to Atiku’s allegations.
