Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of deliberately ignoring a binding Supreme Court judgment directing the Federal Government to implement direct FAAC allocations to local governments.
He alleged that Tinubu is weaponising local government finances to entrench political dominance, arguing that the prolonged non-release of statutory council funds reflects a deliberate strategy rather than administrative delay.
According to Atiku, the withholding of local government allocations has become a tool for political leverage, aimed at weakening opposition-controlled states while consolidating influence over governors aligned with the ruling party, thereby distorting the balance of Nigeria’s federal system.
The allegation was contained in a statement Atiku published on his verified X account on December 24, 2025, referencing the Supreme Court judgment mandating direct allocation of Federation Account funds to local governments nationwide.
The former presidential candidate described the situation as an open disregard for a binding decision of the apex court and stressed that such judgments are final and compulsory under the Constitution.
He wrote, “Dear @officialABAT, by July next year, your administration will have spent two full years deliberately ignoring a binding judgment of the Supreme Court directing the Federal Government to implement direct FAAC allocation to local governments.
“This is not delay. It is defiance. 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.
“Let us be clear: 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.
“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 policy), you are not weakening governors—you are crippling communities, stalling development, and deepening poverty at the grassroots. Roads remain broken, health centres abandoned, salaries unpaid—not by accident, but by choice.
“This situation does not require threats of Executive Orders or political drama. The solution is simple: instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation to enforce the judgment immediately. Anything short of this is a failure of leadership.
“Your continued inaction sends a clear message: that political control matters more than constitutional duty, that party dominance matters more than economic justice, and that regime survival outweighs the daily suffering of Nigerians already battered by harsh economic policies.
“Nigeria deserves leadership that obeys the law it swore to protect, not one that bends it for political gain. History will not forget this moment. Nigerians will not either.”
