By Adedapo Adesanya
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Nigeria’s governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Mr Nyesom Wike, 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 damning revelations by former President Muhammadu Buhari who in December 2022 stated that “if the money from the federation account to the states is about N100 million, N50 million 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 asked 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 also wants the governors 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,” stressing that they cannot “hide under the excuse that the Freedom of Information Act is not applicable to their states and the FCT.”
According to SERAP, “It is in the public interest and the interest of justice to grant this application,” as Nigerians are entitled to their constitutionally and internationally recognized human right to information.
The group, in the suit filed on behalf of its lawyers, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, Miss Kehinde Oyewumi and Mr Andrew Nwankwo, noted that, “States and the FCT should be guided by transparency and accountability principles and proactively publish information pertaining to their actual disbursement and spending of federal allocations meant for local governments.”
It argued that, “Granting the reliefs sought would ensure transparency and accountability in the actual disbursement and spending of federal allocations in the states and FCT would also improve the enjoyment by Nigerians of their right to natural wealth and resources.”
“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,” it submitted.
“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,” it said in the suit filed before the court.
Modupe Gbadeyanka