Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President
Muhammadu Buhari requesting him to “use your good offices and leadership to
urgently take concrete measures to address and mitigate the negative effects of
the
economic recession and crisis on the poorest and most marginalized across
the country.”
The letter dated 2 September 2016 and signed by SERAP senior
staff counsel Timothy Adewale expressed concern that “the economic crisis is
having disproportionate impacts on the rights of the poorest and most
marginalized, who are the most vulnerable because they already suffer from
years of corruption, underdevelopment and abuse of power.”
The
organization asked President Buhari to “Urgently provide the socially and
economically vulnerable with social protection programs and safety-nets to
protect them from severe poverty and deprivation”, and “immediately drop the
proposed 10 per cent tax on phone calls, text messages, data and more, as this
would disproportionately affect the socially and economically vulnerable and
push them deeper into poverty and deprivation.”
The organization also asked the
President to “Urgently propose legislation and constitutional amendment that
would end the practice of budgeting billions of Naira as ‘security votes’ for
the Federal Government and the 36 state governments, as the diversion of the
funds has continued to undermine the ability of the government to provide
essential goods and services across the country.”
The letter reads in part:
“Increased poverty and the hunger that it brings will threaten the right to
life and health of many socially and economically vulnerable, including women
and children. These groups of people are bearing the brunt and feeling the
impacts of the economic crisis on their standards of living, their jobs and
their homes.” “Your government has a binding obligation to ensure that all its
policies to address the economic crisis are consistent with standards of human
rights law. At the same time, the role of your government is to act as the
guarantor of human rights of millions of impoverished Nigerians, including
economic and social rights. Economic recession cannot be used as excuse for
failing to fulfil these rights.”
“We urge President Buhari to immediately
provide economic stimulus packages that are focused on limiting the worst human
consequences of the crisis, and give priority attention to the most vulnerable
and marginalized in the distribution of resources.”
“Buhari should put pressure
on the National Assembly to cut its budget and spending, which in 2016 alone is
N115 billion. The sum of N150 billion each was allocated to the National
Assembly in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 while N115 billion was allocated in 2015.
These huge budget allocations cannot be justified and must stop.”
“Buhari
should immediately cut the sum of N103.47m budgeted for foodstuff and catering
materials in the Presidential Villa, and put pressure on the 36 state
governments (including the Ondo State government which budgeted N103.2m for
feeding and entertainment of the state governor in 2016 and the Cross River
state government which budgeted the sum of N1.4bn for entertainment and
hospitality for the governor), to cut these outrageous budget allocations and
use the funds for social services and to pay workers’ salaries.”
“The economic
recession is devastating lives and livelihoods across the country, and quickly
translating into rising unemployment among Nigerian youths, hunger and
powerlessness.
Exacerbated by the failure of many state governments to pay
workers’ salaries timely, this situation has pushed millions of Nigerians
deeper into poverty. Yet, there are no social protection and human rights-based
responses to the economic crisis.”
“SERAP is also concerned that the economic
recession threatens the full range of human rights, particularly economic and
social rights such as the right to an adequate standard of living and the
rights to health, housing, food and education.”
“SERAP believes that the economic
crisis is a human rights concern not only because of the serious consequences
on human rights, but also because of the underlying structural causes of the
crisis which relate directly to unfettered pursuit of self-interest and
failures of successive governments to respect, protect and fulfill economic and
social rights.”
“Under international human rights law, your government is
responsible for creating the conditions in which Nigerians and other people
living in the country can effectively exercise the full range of their human
rights, including economic and social rights.
These rights set out the basic
minimum standards against which the actions (and failures to act) of your
government can be judged.”
“SERAP believes that the economic crisis in the country
is a threat to human rights, but also an opportunity to prioritise compliance
with human rights obligations, particularly those related to economic and
social rights, as well as to fast-track prosecution of corruption cases and
recovery of stolen assets.”
“Despite the human rights dimensions of the crisis,
the language of human rights is still largely absent from the diagnoses or
prescriptions proposed by your government.
There has been little analysis of
either the causes or the consequences of the economic crisis in human rights
terms. The duty to respect is essentially a duty to “do no harm.” Thus, your
government must work diligently to avoid and mitigate any negative impacts of
the crisis on the poorest and most marginalized groups, whose rights are being
violated.”
SERAP also urged President Buhari to: Move swiftly to avoid and
mitigate the negative effects of the economic recession on human dignity and
human rights of several Nigerians living in poverty by urgently providing the
socially and economically vulnerable with social protection programs and
safety-nets to protect them from severe poverty and deprivation Immediately
guarantee minimum levels of economic and social rights essential for survival
and human dignity, including the rights to health, food, housing and education
Fully integrate human rights principles and standards, such as participation,
transparency, accountability and redress into the initiatives developed to
respond to the economic crisis, and identify longer-term measures that address
the structural causes of the crisis that impinge on the government’s ability to
meet its human rights obligations and responsibilities to its own citizens
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