Frontline Nigerian lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, to step down if President Bola Tinubu refuses to heed his legal advice.
Ozekhome made this call while faulting the Federal Government’s decision to withhold funds meant for local governments in Osun State, describing it as a purely political action.
According to him, President Tinubu may not be receiving the right legal direction from Fagbemi, especially after the AGF reportedly advised the Ministry of Finance in a letter to release LGA allocations to the sacked All Progressives Congress, APC, officials in Osun.
The lawyer stressed that such a move undermines democracy. He reminded Tinubu of his own experience as Lagos State governor when then-President Olusegun Obasanjo withheld local government allocations.
“The Supreme Court held that the Federal Government could never withhold funds meant for local governments in Lagos State,” he reminded the President.
Ozekhome went further to note that he doubts Tinubu would outrightly reject sound legal advice from Fagbemi. He added, “If he did give the advice and the President ignored it, then he ought to resign.”
He also drew a comparison with a past administration, recalling that when the then AGF, Mohammed Bello Adoke, advised ex-President Goodluck Jonathan against removing the Plateau State governor during a state of emergency, “The President abided by that advice.”
