Its deputy
director, Timothy Adewale said the prospect was based on a Lagos Federal High
Court decision that gave SERAP the go ahead to seek more information on the
disbursement of the funds allegedly diverted and mismanaged by 35 states.
A lagos
based rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project
(SERAP) yesterday said Nigerians now have greater prospects of knowing the
details of how state governors spent the N388b Paris Club refunds they got from
the Federal Government.
Its deputy
director, Timothy Adewale said the prospect was based on a Lagos Federal High
Court decision that gave SERAP the go ahead to seek more information on the
disbursement of the funds allegedly diverted and mismanaged by 35 states.
The court,
in its ruling, had granted SERAP leave to apply for judicial relief and to seek
an order of mandamus compelling the government to publish details of how the
states spent the N388.304 billion London Paris Club Loan refunds.
Ruling on an
ex parte motion filed by its counsel, Bamisope Ibidolapo, Justice Muslim Hassan
granted SERAP the right to proceed with the legal challenge to unravel how 35
states spent the funds.
While
granting the leave, he stressed that it was important for the authorities “to
tell their people exactly how they spent the money.”The court subsequently
fixed September 14, 2017 to hear the arguments of the motion on notice on why
the state governments should not be compelled to publicise details of projects
on which the Paris Club loan refunds were spent.Adewale said Hassan’s order has
cleared the way for SERAP to advance its case against the federal and state
governments.
In the suit
number FCH/CS/523/17 filed in April, the group had sought “an order to compel
the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris to compile and pass to
the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubabar Malami
(SAN), the spending details of the N388.304billion refunds to the states.”
SERAP is
also seeking an order for the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to use
the information on the spending by the 35 states to initiate legal action
against the states that allegedly diverted and mismanaged the funds with a view
to compelling them to publish details of spending.
The Federal
Government recently released the sum of N388.304billion of the N522.74 billion
to 35 states as refunds of over-deductions on London-Paris Club loans.The
amounts received by the states are: Akwa Ibom N14.5b; Bayelsa N14.5b; Delta
N14.5b; Kaduna N14.3b; Katsina N14.5b; Lagos N14.5b; Rivers N14.5b; Borno
N13.6b, Imo N13b; Jigawa 13.2b; Niger N13.4b; Bauchi N12.7b; Benue N12.7b;
Anambra N11.3b; Cross River N11.3b; Edo N11.3b; Kebbi N11b and Kogi N11.2b.
Others are:
Osun N11.7b; Sokoto N11.9b; Abia N10.6b; Ogun N10.6b; Plateau N10.4b; Yobe
N10b; Zamfara N10b, Adamawa N4.8b; Ebonyi N3.3b; Ekiti N8.8b; Enugu N9.9b;
Gombe N8.3b; Kwara N5.4b; Nasarawa N8.4b; Ondo N6.5b; Oyo N7.2b and Taraba
N4.2b.
0 Comments