2027: I’ll implement S’Court judgment on LG autonomy if elected president- Atiku

Accuses Tinubu’s administration of failing to enforce Apex court judgment on LG autonomy

Vows to review NELFUND, offer debt forgiveness to Nigerian students

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, says he would 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.

Recall that the Supreme Court on July 11, 2024, 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 another development, the ADC presidential candidate has vowed to review the Nigerian Education Loan Fund NELFUND policy and provide debt forgiveness for qualifying Nigerian students, dismissing as “dishonest” President Bola Tinubu’s attempt to present the scheme as proof that education has become more affordable under his administration.

Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the former vice president, Phrank Shaibu, said in a statement on Tuesday evening that his response was to Tinubu’s overnight post on X, in which the president attacked Atiku’s economic positions without mentioning him by name.

Shaibu said Tinubu’s invocation of NELFUND as a defence against Atiku’s proposal to cut the cost of energy was disingenuous, arguing that the President had first driven up the cost of education before presenting loans as a rescue package. “Celebrating NELFUND as proof that education has become affordable under your government is like setting school fees on fire and then boasting that you lent students a bucket of water. What exactly is the wisdom in presiding over dramatic increases in school fees in some institutions, only to turn around and celebrate loans as the solution?”, he queried.

He described the arrangement as “witchcraft economics,” stating: “You make education more expensive, lend students money to survive the increase, and then demand applause for the rescue. That is not affordability. It is witchcraft economics: create the burden with one hand, offer debt with the other, and demand applause for the intervention.”

According to Shaibu, Atiku has already conducted a review of the existing student-loan framework and does not believe young Nigerians should begin their working lives under the weight of education debt.

“His approach will reduce the underlying cost of education and, after review, provide forgiveness for qualifying student debts so that young Nigerians can graduate with hope rather than repayment burdens. Education should open doors, not mortgage the future”, said Shaibu.

He insisted that a loan, by its nature, could not be mistaken for a scholarship, and that the true measure of any education policy was whether families could keep their children in school without being forced into borrowing.

According to him, government should not “parade the loan itself as evidence that the system is working” once the underlying cost of education has become prohibitive for ordinary families.

He further accused the presidency of deploying scare tactics against Nigerian students and workers by suggesting that Atiku’s proposed energy intervention, targeted at Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining, would somehow undermine NELFUND, cut salaries or reverse the minimum wage. “If your government has the arithmetic, Bola, publish it. Show Nigerians, line by line, how a transparently budgeted subsidy tied to Nigerian crude and domestic refining suddenly empties NELFUND or workers’ pay packets”, he demanded.

Shaibu maintained that Atiku’s position was the direct opposite of what the presidency had claimed, insisting that reducing the cost of energy and transportation would leave workers’ salaries and students’ upkeep going further rather than less.

“Reduce the cost of energy so that salaries buy more. Reduce transport costs so that less of a worker’s wage disappears merely getting to work. You cannot make life painfully expensive, push students towards debt to survive the consequences, and then frighten those same students that cheaper fuel will take their loans away”, he declared.