Audit Service Bill: Obey rule of law or resign, Atiku challenges Tinubu

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to either obey the rule of law by acting on the Federal Audit Service Bill or resign from office, accusing the president of indifference to constitutional discipline and institutional accountability.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Friday in Abuja, Atiku expressed concern that Tinubu had failed to conclude action on the bill months after it was transmitted by the National Assembly.

The former Vice President cited Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which stipulates that “Where a Bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within thirty days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent.”

He said; “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”.

Atiku noted that the Federal Audit Service Bill was designed to modernise Nigeria’s audit architecture, strengthen the independence of the Auditor-General and improve oversight of public expenditure, adding that delaying action on legislation meant to reinforce transparency sends the wrong message at a time when Nigerians are demanding stronger institutions.

“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.

Atiku linked this pattern to the recent controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council PFIPC, saying that regardless of what ongoing investigations or official processes eventually establish, the episode exposed the dangers of weak institutional safeguards, conflicting official narratives and declining public confidence in governance.

“If constitutional timelines can be ignored without consequence, if accountability legislation can remain unattended beyond the period contemplated by the Constitution, and if institutions responsible for safeguarding public resources are denied the reforms they require, then no Nigerian should be surprised when controversies emerge over public institutions, government approvals and official processes,” he said.

He warned that treating one constitutional obligation as optional inevitably weakens respect for every other constitutional safeguard.

The former Vice President therefore gave Tinubu a seven-day ultimatum to comply with the constitutional obligation imposed by Section 58(4), either by assenting to the Federal Audit Service Bill and formally communicating to the National Assembly and Nigerians his reasons for withholding assent, or by voluntarily quitting office.