Former Vice President and ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticized President Bola Tinubu over the allocation of ₦22.15 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Act for the construction and renovation of 106 palaces for traditional rulers nationwide.
In a statement issued Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu Atiku said the Federal Government has no constitutional mandate to fund such projects and described the allocation as a violation that could open the door to illegal spending and corruption.
According to Atiku, the 1999 Constitution clearly delineates the duties of each tier of government and does not empower the Federal Government to build or renovate palaces for traditional institutions.
“President Tinubu swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, not to amend it through the Appropriation Act,” he said.
“Traditional institutions are matters within the constitutional competence of state and local governments. A federal budget cannot lawfully be used to assume responsibilities that the Constitution has assigned elsewhere.”
He queried the legal foundation for the spending:
“Under which provision of the Constitution is the Federal Government appropriating ₦22.15 billion from the Federation Account for the construction and renovation of 106 palaces? Which Constitution is President Tinubu operating?”
Atiku noted that the Constitution only references traditional institutions in the Third Schedule, Part II where states are permitted to establish Councils of Chiefs to advise governors on chieftaincy and customary law matters.
“The 1999 Constitution did not establish, fund or assign any executive responsibility over traditional institutions to the Federal Government. Beyond this limited advisory role, the Constitution leaves the creation, administration and funding of traditional institutions to state governments and their Houses of Assembly. President Tinubu cannot, by the instrument of an Appropriation Act, assume powers that the Constitution deliberately withheld from the Federal Government,” he said.
The former vice president also faulted the lack of details on the projects. He said the government has not disclosed the identities of the beneficiaries, locations of the palaces, or the breakdown of funds.
Keeping such information from the public, he warned, fuels suspicion that the projects “exist only in official documents” while the intended monarchs may never benefit.
“Our royal fathers deserve dignity and respect. They must not be used as unwilling instruments to legitimise opaque and constitutionally questionable budgetary allocations. If this administration truly respects the traditional institution, it should stop hiding behind it,” Atiku stated.
He added that the national budget should reflect constitutional principles and government priorities, not serve as a vehicle for questionable expenditure.
Atiku called on the Presidency, the Budget Office, and all relevant MDAs to immediately publish the full list of the 106 palace project.
“Their locations and
amount allocated to each, The constitutional basis for the expenditure and the Details of the procurement process
“The national treasury is not a Bourdillon-based private vault, and the Appropriation Act is not a license to suspend the Constitution,” he declared.
“No government can claim to uphold the rule of law while appropriating public funds for projects it cannot constitutionally undertake and whose beneficiaries it refuses to identify.”
