The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sued Nigeria’s 36 governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,Nyesom Wike.
They were sued for failing “to account for the spending of trillions of Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations collected by their states and the FCT since 1999″.
This was contained in a release on Sunday by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
The release said the lawsuit followed reports that the FAAC disbursed N1.123 trillion to federal, state, and local governments for March 2024. They shared N1.208 trillion in April. States collected N398.689 billion in March while they collected N403.403 billion in April.
In the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/666/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP asked the court to “direct and compel the governors and Wike to publish spending details of the FAAC allocations collected by their states and the FCT since 1999 including the list and locations of projects executed with the money.”
The organisation also asked the court to “compel the governors and Mr Wike to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to probe any allegations of corruption linked to the allocations and to monitor how the money is spent”.
It argued that, “Nigerians ought to know in what manner public funds including FAAC allocations, are spent by the governors and FCT minister.”
“Opacity in the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by the governors and Mr Wike would continue to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens,” SERAP said.
It noted that trillions of FAAC allocations received by Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT have allegedly gone down the drain.
It believes that, “Directing and compelling the governors and FCT minister to provide the information sought and widely publish the spending details of the FAAC allocations collected by them would serve legitimate public interests.”
It added, “The failure by the governors and the FCT ministers to account for the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by them is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international anti-corruption obligations.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part, “States and the FCT should be guided by transparency and accountability principles and proactively account for the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by them.
“Secrecy in the spending of FAAC allocations collected by the governors and the FCT minister also denies Nigerians the right to know how public funds are spent. Transparency in the spending would allow them to retain control over their government.
“The governors and FCT minister have a legal obligation to provide the information sought including the list of specific projects completed with the FAAC allocations collected, the locations of any such projects and completion reports of the projects.
“The information sought should also include details of the salaries and pensions paid from the FAAC allocations collected, as well as the details of projects executed on hospitals and schools with the FAAC allocations.
“Despite the increased FAAC allocations to states and FCT, millions of residents in several states and the FCT continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services”
It added, “The reported removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the exchange rate by the Federal Government has translated into increased FAAC allocations to states and the FCT. However, there is no corresponding improvement in the security and welfare of millions of Nigerians.
“FAAC allocations received by the states and the FCT are reportedly characterised by mismanagement, diversion of funds, and abandoned projects. FAAC allocations have also been allegedly spent for other purposes such as election campaigns and political patronage.
“Publishing the documents on the spending of FAAC allocations by the states and the FCT would promote transparency, accountability, and reduce the risks of corruption in the spending of the funds.
“Publishing the documents would also enable Nigerians to meaningfully engage in the implementation of projects executed with the FAAC allocations collected.”
SERAP noted that the report that “some 140 million Nigerians are poor suggests corruption and mismanagement in the spending of trillions of naira in FAAC allocations collected by the states and the FCT”.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
