The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has pledged to ensure the direct payment of funds allocated to Nigeria’s 774 local government councils if elected president in 2027.
Atiku, a former vice president, made the pledge in a statement issued by his official spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, and posted on X on Tuesday.
He said an ADC-led administration would uphold the rule of law, respect court judgments and guarantee the constitutional independence of the three tiers of government, including local councils.
Atiku also accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to implement the Supreme Court’s July 2024 judgment affirming the financial autonomy of local governments.
The former vice president alleged that the Federal Government’s failure to enforce the judgment was politically motivated, arguing that the administration was reluctant to confront state governors who had historically exercised control over local government funds.
“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,” Atiku said.
He argued that direct access to their statutory allocations would strengthen local councils and accelerate development at the grassroots.
According to him, financial independence would enable local governments to address poverty, improve basic services and strengthen their capacity to tackle insecurity, including crime and terrorism, within their jurisdictions.
“This move will ensure that development is brought to the grassroots, reduce poverty at the level of government nearest to the people, and guarantee financial independence to the local governments which will increase their capacity to fight crimes and terrorism at that level,” he said.
Atiku further alleged that the Tinubu administration’s position on local government autonomy was being shaped by political calculations ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He claimed that state governors were being allowed to retain control over local government funds as an incentive to secure their support for President Tinubu’s re-election.
“This is not the Nigeria we should accept,” the ADC presidential candidate declared.
The Supreme Court had, in July 2024, ordered the Federal Government to pay allocations meant for local governments directly to democratically elected local government councils, in a landmark ruling aimed at strengthening the financial independence of the third tier of government.
However, implementation of the judgment has remained contentious.
PUNCHONLINE reported in July that, two years after the Supreme Court ruling, implementation of the financial autonomy judgment remained stalled, despite N10.48 trillion reportedly having been allocated to local governments within the period.