Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has given President Bola Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to comply with what he described as his constitutional obligation, by either signing the Federal Audit Service Bill into law or formally notifying the National Assembly of his reasons for withholding assent.
Failing that, Atiku said, the president should resign.
He also accused Tinubu of violating the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by failing to act on the bill within the period prescribed by law, warning that continued inaction undermines democratic governance and public accountability.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the president’s delay in assenting to or rejecting the bill months after it was transmitted by the National Assembly amounted to a disregard for the Constitution.
“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,” the statement read in part.
Citing Section 58(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Atiku noted that the president is required to signify assent or withhold assent to any bill presented to him within 30 days.
“That provision is neither decorative nor discretionary. It is a constitutional command. 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.
