Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s current Head of State and leader of the Federal Government, to immediately enforce a landmark ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria granting financial autonomy to Local Government Councils across the country.
Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s Vice President between 1999 and 2007, made the appeal in a public statement shared on his verified account on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday, December 24, 2025. He expressed concern that nearly two years after the Supreme Court delivered its judgment, the ruling has yet to be fully implemented.
Okay News reports that the former Vice President described the continued delay as a constitutional breach, stressing that judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria are final and binding on all authorities and institutions within the country.
“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,” Atiku stated.
He argued that the failure to release funds directly to Local Government Councils weakens governance at the grassroots, where government services are most directly felt by citizens.
“Local governments are the closest arm of government to the people. By withholding their financial autonomy, you are not weakening governors—you are crippling communities, stalling development, and deepening poverty at the grassroots,” he added.
Atiku further urged President Tinubu to immediately direct Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation, who serves as the country’s Chief Law Officer, to take the necessary steps to enforce the Supreme Court ruling without further delay.
“The solution is simple. Anything short of this is a failure of leadership,” he said.
President Tinubu had previously addressed the issue during the Fifteenth National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling political party. At that meeting, he publicly urged State Governors across Nigeria to comply with the judgment of the Supreme Court.
The President also warned that if State Governments continued to delay compliance, his administration might be compelled to issue an Executive Order to ensure that funds from the Federation Account are paid directly to Local Government Councils.
“The Supreme Court has capped it for you again, saying, ‘give them their money directly.’ If you wait for my Executive Order… I will cut it,” Tinubu said at the meeting, emphasising the urgency of compliance.
The Supreme Court ruling, delivered on Thursday, July 11, 2024, upheld a suit filed by the Federal Government of Nigeria seeking to enforce the financial independence of the 774 Local Government Councils. The court affirmed that Local Governments are constitutionally entitled to receive their allocations directly from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
