Politics

Resign If Tinubu Ignores Your Counsel – Ozekhome Urges AGF Fagbemi

Published by admin on August 25th, 2025.

Resign If Tinubu Ignores Your Counsel – Ozekhome Urges AGF Fagbemi

Prominent Nigerian legal expert, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has called on the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to step down if President Bola Tinubu disregards his legal advice.

Ozekhome made the remark while criticizing the Federal Government’s decision to withhold funds allocated to local governments in Osun State, describing the move as politically motivated.

He expressed concern that President Tinubu may not be receiving sound legal counsel from Fagbemi. This follows a letter reportedly issued by the AGF to the Ministry of Finance, advising the release of local government funds to removed officials affiliated with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State.

According to Ozekhome, such actions undermine democratic principles.

He reminded President Tinubu of his own experience as Lagos State governor, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo blocked state funds — a move later deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the federal government had no authority to withhold local government allocations.

Ozekhome questioned whether the President is truly acting on informed legal advice, saying, “If Fagbemi did offer proper legal guidance and Tinubu chose to ignore it, then the honourable course of action would be to resign.”

He further cited a past example where former AGF Mohammed Bello Adoke counseled then-President Goodluck Jonathan against dismissing the Plateau State governor during a state of emergency. Jonathan, he noted, accepted that advice and refrained from taking unconstitutional action.