Jonathan Nwokpor
The presidency has taken issue with Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party’s presidential candidate, for his lack of response to the Supreme Court’s ruling giving local governments financial autonomy.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Advisor to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, urged Obi to follow Atiku Abubakar’s lead by commenting on the historic ruling and acknowledging that the president is elevating Nigeria.
Onanuga noted in a post on his X page that a strong opposition should be able to praise its rival.
He wrote: “Why is Peter Obi silent?
“More than 36 hours after the Supreme Court gave a landmark ruling, granting financial autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local councils, Mr. Peter Obi, the defeated Labour Party candidate, has yet to utter a word on the epochal judgment.
“His silence confirms the belief that he is always quick to tweet unverified news about the Tinubu administration or our country.
“A good opposition statesman must be candid enough to applaud his political opponent when he has done some great deed. The Tinubu administration has succeeded in giving life back to our emasculated councils, using the instrumentality of the law.
“Even Atiku Abubakar has grudgingly admitted this. But Peter has been silent. He should break his silence and acknowledge that President Tinubu is making a great Nigeria possible.”
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that local government councils should receive direct payment of all federal funds into their accounts.
The federal government sued the 36 state governors, and Justice Emmanuel Agim, the panel’s chief justice, handed down the decision.
The governors were also forbidden by the court from accepting, manipulating, or retaining funds intended for local governments.
In addition, the court declared that the governors’ inability to remove democratically elected local government officials from office violated the 1999 Constitution.
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