You’ve No Business Building ₦22.15bn Palaces For Monarchs — Atiku Slams Tinubu

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the allocation of ₦22.15 billion for the construction and renovation of 106 traditional rulers’ palaces in the 2026 Appropriation Act, describing the expenditure as unconstitutional and a potential avenue for corruption.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President argued that the Federal Government has no constitutional responsibility for funding traditional institutions, insisting that such matters fall within the jurisdiction of state and local governments.

According to Atiku, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not empower the Federal Government to construct or renovate palaces for traditional rulers.

“President Tinubu swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, not to amend it through the Appropriation Act. 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 said.

He questioned the constitutional basis for the allocation, asking: “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 further argued that the 1999 Constitution only makes a limited reference to traditional institutions by allowing states 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. Indeed, its only reference to traditional institutions is in the Third Schedule, Part II, where it merely permits states to establish a Council of Chiefs to advise their governors on chieftaincy and customary law matters. Beyond this limited advisory role, the Constitution leaves the creation, administration and funding of traditional institutions to state governments and the laws enacted by their respective 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 presidential candidate also faulted the government’s failure to disclose the identities of the traditional rulers, the locations of the proposed projects and the communities expected to benefit, describing the omission as a “blank cheque for corruption.”

He said the lack of transparency raises concerns that the projects may exist only on paper and that the intended beneficiaries might never receive any benefit from the allocations.

Atiku maintained that a national budget should reflect both constitutional provisions and the government’s priorities.

“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,” he said.

He urged the Presidency, the Budget Office and all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to publish the full list of the 106 palace projects, their locations, the amounts allocated to each, the constitutional basis for the expenditure and 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. 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,” he declared.