Sunday, February 25, 2024 -The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Nigerian governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Mr Nyesom Wike.
The suit is "over their failure to
account for the alleged missing N40 trillion federal allocations meant for
local governments in the states and the FCT".
The suit followed the revelations by former
president Muhammadu Buhari who in December 2022 stated, "If the money from
the Federation Account to the state is about N100m, N50m will be sent to the
chairman but he will sign that he received N100 million. The chairman will
pocket the balance and share it."
In the suit
number FHC/ABJ/CS/231/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja,
SERAP is asking the court to "direct and compel the governors to publish
details of LGA allocations and actual disbursement of the allocations to local
governments in their respective states from 1999 to date."
SERAP is also
asking the court to "compel and direct Mr Wike to publish details of
federal allocations meant for the Area Councils in the FCT and the actual
disbursement of the allocations to the Area Councils in the FCT from 1999 to
date."
In the suit,
SERAP argues thus: "The Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the
Freedom of Information Act, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights impose transparency obligations on the governors and Mr Wike to publish
the details of LGA allocations and actual disbursement in their states and the
FCT.
"State
governors and Mr Wike cannot hide under the excuse that the Freedom of
Information Act is not applicable to their states and the FCT. The legal
obligations to publish the information sought are also imposed by the
provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights."
The suit filed
on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and
Andrew Nwankwo, read in part: "Opacity in the amounts of federal
allocations actually disbursed to local governments in the states and FCT has
continued to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the
citizens."
It said,
"The governors and Mr Wike have a legal responsibility to promote
transparency and accountability in the actual disbursement and spending of
federal allocations meant for local government areas in the states and FCT and
to ensure that the allocations are dully and fully disbursed to the local
governments.
"Despite
the country's enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived very little
benefit from oil money primarily because of widespread grand corruption, and
the culture of impunity of perpetrators.
"Combating
the corruption epidemic in the spending of federal allocations meant for local
government areas in the states and FCT would alleviate poverty, improve access
of Nigerians to basic public goods, and enhance the ability of the local
governments to effectively and efficiently discharge their constitutional and
statutory responsibilities.
"According to our information, the 36
states in Nigeria and the federal capital territory, Abuja, have collected over
N40 trillion federal allocations meant for the 774 local governments areas in
the country and FCT.
"The Federation Account Allocation
Committee (FAAC) disbursed to states N225.21 billion federal allocations meant
for local governments in November 2023 alone. States also collected
N258,810,449,711.47 federal allocations meant for local government areas in
December 2023.
"However, there is opacity in the
actual disbursement of federal allocations to the local government areas in the
states and FCT. States and the FCT have over the years failed and/or refused to
disclose the portion of federal allocations that are disbursed to local
governments.
"Former
president Muhammadu Buhari recently alleged that state governors routinely
pocket or divert federal allocations meant for local governments areas in their
states."
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