The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the coming 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to fully implement the Supreme Court judgment restoring autonomy to the 774 local governments in the country.
He promised to ensure that funds meant for LGAs are paid directly to them if he is elected president.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kenneth Okonkwo, Atiku’s spokesperson, said the former vice-president would uphold the rule of law and strengthen local government autonomy if elected.
On July 11, 2024, the supreme court ruled that allocations from the federation account should be paid directly to the 774 local government councils rather than through state governments.
The judgment followed a suit filed by the federal government against the 36 state governors over the administration and funding of local governments.
Despite the court ruling, some states have yet to comply with the directive.
“My administration will respect court judgments, protect local government autonomy, ensure that public funds reach the people for whom they are meant, and restore true federalism,” the statement quoted Atiku as saying.
He said the move would bring development closer to Nigerians at the grassroots and reduce poverty.
Atiku also said direct funding would give local governments greater financial independence and improve their capacity to tackle crime and terrorism.
The former vice-president accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to enforce the court judgment.
He alleged that the decision was influenced by a desire to not confront All Progressives Congress (APC) state governors who previously controlled local government funds.
According to him, the funds were being retained as an “enticement” for governors to support Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
“Atiku acknowledges that the Supreme Court had ruled on July 2024 that local government funds should be paid directly to local governments,” the statement said.
“Yet, the current administration of President Tinubu has failed to enforce this judgment, seemingly to avoid confronting the gluttonous APC State Governors who previously controlled these funds, as an enticement to them to use the Local Government funds to buy votes for Tinubu in 2027 presidential election.”
In December, Tinubu warned state governors that he may issue an executive order to enforce direct allocation of funds to LGs if they failed to comply with the supreme court ruling. (vitalnewsngr.com)
