Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to restrain the National Assembly from spending N40 billion on 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials and N70bn as ‘palliatives’ for new members.
SERAP in an order of mandamus asked the court to direct and compel Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to review and reduce the N40 billion budgeted to buy 465 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials until an assessment of the socio-economic impact of the spending on the 137 million poor Nigerians is carried out in the public interest.
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The civil society organisation is further seeking an order restraining Akpabio and Abbas from demanding or receiving the N40 billion to buy 465 SUVs and bulletproof cars.
SERAP is also seeking an order of mandamus to direct and compel Akpabio and Abbas to repeal the Supplementary Appropriation Act 2022 to reduce the budget for the National Assembly by N110bn to reflect the current economic realities in the country.
In an affidavit filed alongside the suit, the applicant insisted that Nigerians have a right to honest and faithful performance by their public officials, including lawmakers, as public officials owe a fiduciary duty to the general citizenry.
SERAP also averred that unless the reliefs sought are granted, the lawmakers will spend the N110bn and the travesty, and apparent conflicts of interest and self-dealing by members of the National Assembly would continue.
It argued that it is a fundamental breach of their fiduciary duties for members of the National Assembly to increase their budget arbitrarily and to use the budget as a tool to satisfy the lifestyle of lawmakers.
The applicant also pointed out while N70 billion ‘support allowance’ is budgeted for 306 new lawmakers, only N500 billion worth of palliatives is budgeted for 12 million poor Nigerians.
N40 billion is also allocated to buy 465 SUVs and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials.
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyer, Kolawole Oluwadare, reads in part, “The plan to spend N110bn is a fundamental breach of constitutional and international human rights obligations.
“The planned spending of N110bn is a breach of section 57 (4) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 which provides that: ‘All persons in whose hands public funds may be entrusted for whatever purpose should bear in mind that its utilisation should be Judicious.
“It is also a grave violation of the public trust and constitutional oath of office for members of the National Assembly to unjustifiably increase their budget at a time when over 137 million poor Nigerians are living in extreme poverty exacerbated by the removal of fuel subsidy.
“Rather than exercising their constitutional and oversight functions to pursue the public interest by considering bills to improve the conditions of the over 137 million poor Nigerians facing the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy, the lawmakers appear to be looking after themselves.
“According to reports, no fewer than 107 units of the 2023 model of the Toyota Land Cruiser and 358 units of the 2023 model of Toyota Prado would be bought for the use of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit as it has not been assigned to a judge.