Former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has given President Bola Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to either act on the Federal Audit Service Bill in line with the Constitution or resign from office.
Mr Atiku, in a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, accused the President of violating Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by failing to either assent to or withhold assent to the bill within the constitutionally prescribed 30-day period after it was transmitted by the National Assembly.
The former vice president described the delay as a demonstration of what he called the Tinubu administration’s growing disregard for constitutional order, institutional accountability and the rule of law.
According to Mr Atiku, Section 58(4) of the Constitution leaves no room for ambiguity, requiring the President to signify assent or withhold assent within 30 days of receiving any bill passed by the National Assembly.
He argued that the constitutional provision was “neither decorative nor discretionary” but a binding obligation on the President.
“The framers of our Constitution never envisaged a President who would simply sit on legislation indefinitely while governance drifts without certainty or accountability,” he said.
Mr Atiku noted that the Federal Audit Service Bill was intended to strengthen Nigeria’s public financial management system by modernising the country’s audit framework, enhancing the independence of the Auditor-General and improving oversight of public expenditure.
He argued that delaying action on legislation designed to promote transparency and accountability sends the wrong message at a time when Nigerians are demanding stronger institutions and prudent management of public resources.
The former vice president further alleged that the President’s failure to act on the bill reflected a broader pattern of neglect for constitutional safeguards under the current administration.
According to him, governance failures often begin with the erosion of institutional checks and disregard for legal provisions.
“Every major scandal begins with a smaller act of institutional neglect. It begins when constitutional provisions are treated as optional, when oversight institutions are weakened and when those entrusted with enforcing the law become comfortable operating outside its clear boundaries,” he said.
Mr Atiku also referenced the recent controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, saying the episode underscored the dangers of weak institutional safeguards and declining public confidence in government.
While noting that investigations into the matter were still ongoing, he maintained that controversies surrounding public institutions become inevitable when constitutional obligations are ignored and accountability reforms are delayed.
“The Constitution is one indivisible covenant. A President who treats one constitutional obligation as optional inevitably weakens respect for every other constitutional safeguard. That is how impunity gradually becomes institutional culture and governance descends into perpetual crisis management rather than responsible leadership,” he said.
The former vice president stressed that constitutional democracy could not survive on selective obedience to the law, insisting that the President, as the chief executive, must be the foremost example of compliance with the Constitution.
“The same Constitution that confers enormous powers on the President also places clear obligations upon him. Executive authority is not a licence for constitutional indifference. A President who expects citizens to obey the law must himself be the foremost example of obedience to the Constitution,” he stated.
Mr Atiku therefore called on President Tinubu to comply with Section 58(4) of the Constitution within seven days by either assenting to the Federal Audit Service Bill or formally communicating to the National Assembly and Nigerians his reasons for withholding assent.
He added that if the President failed to do either, he should voluntarily resign from office.
“Nigerians deserve clarity, not silence. The Constitution neither authorises executive inaction nor contemplates indefinite presidential delay. Continued failure to act only reinforces public concern that constitutional obligations are increasingly being subordinated to executive convenience.