SERAP Sues 36 Governors and FCT Minister Wike for Failing to Account for Trillions in FAAC Allocations

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Nigeria’s 36 governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to account for the spending of trillions of naira from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations since 1999.

The lawsuit, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja (suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/666/2024), follows reports that the FAAC disbursed N1.123 trillion to the federal, state, and local governments for March 2024 and N1.208 trillion in April. States received N398.689 billion in March and N403.403 billion in April.

SERAP  has asked the court to direct the governors and Mr 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.

They are also requesting the court to compel the governors and Mr Wike to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe any allegations of corruption linked to the allocations and monitor how the money is spent.

According to SERAP, trillions of FAAC allocations received by Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT have allegedly gone down the drain. The resulting human costs directly threaten the human rights of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.

 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.

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 union stated.

In the lawsuit, SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo, requested that States and the FCT proactively account for the spending of the FAAC allocations collected by them.

SERAP further stated:

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. The reported removal of the 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.

The lawsuit cites various sections of the Nigerian Constitution and international agreements to support its claims, including Sections 15(5), 16(2), and 13 of the Nigerian Constitution, the UN Convention against Corruption, and the Freedom of Information Act.No date has been ed for the hearing of the suit.

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