Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 election, has pledged to enforce financial autonomy for Nigeria’s 774 local government areas if elected president.
Atiku said his administration would ensure that statutory allocations due to local governments from the Federation Account are paid directly to the councils, rather than being controlled by state governments.
His position was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo.
The Supreme Court, on July 11, 2024, ruled that funds meant for local government councils should be paid directly to them. The judgment followed a suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 state governors over the control and funding of local governments.
However, the implementation of the ruling has remained incomplete in some states.
Atiku said his administration would ensure strict compliance with the judgment and make local government autonomy a key component of its grassroots development agenda.
“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,” he said.
According to the former vice-president, direct access to statutory allocations would strengthen local governments’ capacity to provide basic services and execute development projects.
He also argued that financially independent and functional councils would be better positioned to tackle insecurity, reduce poverty and improve living conditions at the grassroots.
Atiku accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to fully enforce the Supreme Court judgment, alleging that the Federal Government was reluctant to confront some state governors over the issue.
He claimed that local government funds were being used as an inducement to secure the political support of governors ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“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 the 2027 presidential election.”
Atiku maintained that granting councils control over their statutory allocations would improve accountability and ensure that funds intended for grassroots development are used for their designated purposes.
