By Ononye VC
The 36 state governors in Nigeria have been dragged to court by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) over their failure to account for the spending of the N72 billion palliative collected from the Federal Government, including details of the beneficiaries and the reliefs provided with the money.
To ameliorate the impact of the removal of petrol subsidy, the Federal Government recently disbursed N2 billion out of the N5 billion palliative package to each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
President Bola Tinubu had during his inaugural speech in May, announced the removal of petrol subsidy, which has led to hike in pump price as well as food prices and transportation fares in the country.
In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1943/2023 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel each of the governors to account for the spending of the N2 billion palliative collected by them from the Federal Government.
SERAP is also seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel each of the governors to disclose details of the beneficiaries and the reliefs provided to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians with the money.
SERAP is further seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel each of the governors to instruct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to monitor the spending of petrol subsidy palliative collected by them.
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that secrecy in the spending of the N72 billion collected by the governors would create distrust or suspicion of the government, adding that the failure by the governors to account for the public funds is both legally and morally wrong.
The organisation is also arguing that the governors are constitutionally required to act in the public interest, stressing that government secrecy promotes arbitrariness and covers illegal acts.
According to SERAP, the right of access to official information such as the spending of the N72 billion by the governors exists to facilitate the exercise of free expression right, discover the truth, and encourage citizens’ participation in a democracy.
The organisation is also arguing that the right to access information held by public officials and bodies is also essential for collective decision-making in a democratic society.
