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SERAP Sues Akpabio, Abbas Over ‘Failure To Clarify Details Of N344.85bn NASS Budget’
Published
3 months agoon
By
EditorSocio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas over “the failure to disclose, clarify and explain the details National Assembly budget of N344.85 billion, and the rationale for several budget items, such as the N6 billion budgeted for two car parks.”
Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas are sued for themselves and on behalf of all members of the National Assembly.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/178/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas to disclose, clarify and explain details of the N344.85 billion National Assembly budget in the Appropriation Act 2024.”
SERAP is seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas to disclose, clarify and explain the details of the N8.5 billion budgeted for ‘National Assembly liabilities’ in the Appropriation Act 2024 and the nature of any such liabilities and how and why they have been incurred.”
SERAP is also seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas to disclose, clarify and explain details of the proposed spending of the N3 billion for the ‘Senate Car Park’ and N3 billion for the House of Representatives Car Park in the Appropriation Act 2024.”
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: “Details of spending of public funds by the National Assembly have been mostly shrouded in secrecy. Nigerians have the right to know the details of the budget by the lawmakers, and the rationale for the budget.”
READ ALSO: SERAP Asks Akpabio, Abbas To Cut ‘Self-serving N344.85bn NASS Budget’
SERAP is also arguing that, “Disclosing, clarifying and explaining the details of the proposed spending of the National Assembly budget would allow Nigerians to scrutinise it, and to monitor the spending of the budget to ensure that the money is not mismanaged, diverted or stolen.”
According to SERAP, “Opacity in the spending of the N344.85 billion National Assembly budget would have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens and the public interest.”
SERAP is also arguing that, “The National Assembly ought to be more responsible to the public interest and more responsive to it. The National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to combat waste and abuse in its own spending if it is to effectively exercise its oversight functions and hold the government to account.”
SERAP said, “Transparency and accountability in public administration is an essential element of democracy. Transparency in the spending of the National Assembly budget would give the public a tool to hold the lawmakers accountable. It would protect Nigerians from any potential abuses of governmental or legislative power that may exist.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part: “It is in the public interest and the interest of justice to grant this application. Nigerians are entitled to their constitutionally and internationally recognized human right to information.”
“The public interest in obtaining the information sought outweighs any other interests. The oversight afforded by public access to such details would serve as an important check on the activities of the lawmakers, and help to prevent abuses of the public trust.”
READ ALSO: Probe Missing, Unaccounted $3.4bn IMF Loan, SERAP Tells Tinubu
“Disclosing, clarifying and explaining details of the spending of the National Assembly budget would improve public trust, and allow Nigerians to track and monitor the spending, and to assess if the items on the budget are justified, as well as to hold lawmakers to account in cases of mismanagement and corruption.”
“Disclosing, clarifying and explaining the details of the proposed spending of the N344.85 billion National Assembly budget would also ensure that lawmakers are answerable to the people for the performance of their duties.”
“The effective operation of representative democracy depends on the people being able to scrutinise, discuss and contribute to government decision making, including on the spending of the National Assembly budget.”
“The Nigerian Constitution, 1999 [as amended], Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their lawmakers’ activities and spending.”
“By the combined reading of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, there are transparency obligations imposed on the National Assembly to disclose, explain and clarify the rationale for several items in the budget.”
“Nigerians have a right to scrutinize how their lawmakers spend their tax money and commonwealth, especially given the precarious economic realities in the country and the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on vulnerable Nigerians.”
“The National Assembly increased its own allocation in the 2024 budget to N344.48bn. The new budgetary allocation to the National Assembly is over 70 percent of the N197bn proposed by President Bola Tinubu for the lawmakers in the budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly.”
READ ALSO: SERAP, 20 Others Sue Akpabio, Abbas, Others For Increasing Own Budget By N147bn
“The N344.48bn National Assembly budget, which is an increase of about N147bn, is reportedly the highest-ever budgetary allocation to the National Assembly.”
“The items contained in the N344.48bn National Assembly budget include: National Assembly Office – Senate – N49.1bn; House of Representatives – N78.6bn; National Assembly Service Commission – N12.3bn; Legislative Aides – N20.3bn; NILDS – N9.09bn; Service-wide votes – N15.1bn; Senate Appropriation Committee– N200m.”
“Other budget items include: House Appropriation Committee – N200 million; Public Account committees of Senate and House – N280.7 million National Assembly Library Take Off Grant – N12.1 billion; National Assembly building (ongoing) – N4.2 billion; and National Assembly Liabilities – N8.5 billion.”
“Other items include: National Assembly E-Library – N225 million; Constitution Review – N1 billion; and Completion of NILDS HQ – N4.5 billion; Construction of NASC Building – N10 billion; Office of Clerks and Permanent Secretaries – N1.2 billion; and Alternative Power System – N4 billion.”
“Other items in the National Assembly budget include: National Assembly Zonal Offices – N3bn; Senate Car Park – N3 billion; House of Representatives Car Park -N3 billion; and Furnishing of committee rooms (Senate) -N2.7 billion; Furnishing of committee rooms (House) – N3 billion; Design, Construction, Furnishing and Equipping of National Assembly Ultramodern Printing Press – N3 billion.”
“There are also other items in the budget: Design, Construction, Furnishing and Equipping of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) – N4 billion; National Assembly Hospital Project – N15 billion.”
“Other items are: National Assembly Recreation Centre – N4 billion; Procurement of Books for the National Assembly Library – N3 billion; and National Assembly Pension Board (Take-Off Grant) – N2.5 billion.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
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News
EFCC Boss Appoints Chief Of Staff, 14 Zonal Directors
Published
25 mins agoon
April 27, 2024By
EditorThe Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has appointed Michael Nzekwe as his Chief of Staff.
This was as he also appointed Zonal Directors for each of the 14 Zonal Commands of the commission.
Nzekwe who is a lawyer and former Commander of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the anti-graft agency, is described as a “topnotch investigator” in a statement released by the Commission’s Head of Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Saturday.
READ ALSO: Sad Story: Nigerian Who Relocated To UK In 2022 Beat Wife To Death With Skateboard
He has served in various departments in the Commission, including the Legal and Prosecution Department, Department of Operations (now Department of Investigations), Department of Internal Affairs (now Department of Ethics and Integrity), Servicom, and Asset Forfeiture Department.
“A seasoned administrator, he has attended several trainings and courses home and abroad, including the Advance Defence Intelligence Officers Course organised by Defence Intel Agency, DIA. The appointment takes immediate effect and he has assumed duties,” Oyewale said.
Meanwhile, the statement said Olukoyede, in his restructuring and repositioning of the EFCC, equally upgraded all the zonal commands of the Commission to the status of Departments, with each of them headed by a Director.
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To this effect, 14 new Directors have been appointed to head each of the zonal commands. Additionally, to bolster and fortify the security architecture of the Commission, the Security Unit of the EFCC has been upgraded to a Department with a seasoned officer appointed as Director, Security and Chief Security Officer.
A new department has also been created in the Executive Chairman’s office and it is headed by the former Makurdi Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Friday Ebelo, who also doubles as Director and Coordinator, Special Duties at the corporate headquarters of the Commission.
The former Department of Internal Affairs has been renamed Department of Ethics and Integrity and minor reshuffling effected in some Departments at the headquarters.
“Olukoyede says that the ongoing restructuring is meant for the repositioning and strengthening of the EFCC to deliver on its assigned mandate optimally.”
News
Why I Hate Mohbad More In Death – Naira Marley’s Associate
Published
31 mins agoon
April 27, 2024By
EditorLaw Lee, an associate of embattled singer, Naira Marley, has made a snide remark about the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly called Mohbad.
Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Law Lee expressed his level of hatred for Mohbad.
His statement came after Portable tackled Zinoleesky, on social media for acquiring a Ferrari despite not having a hit song.
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According to him, the hatred for the deceased increases every day even after his death.
He explained that Mohbad’s alleged disparaging remarks about fellow artist Oniyide Azeez aka Zinoleesky led to a public confrontation towards him on social media by a controversial artist, Habeeb Okikiola aka Portable.
He further stated that if Mohbad had not made negative remarks about Zinoleesky, Portable wouldn’t have made such a move.
He wrote, “Every day my hatred for Mohbad keeps increasing even after his death …. If not for all those miscap about zino na why this @portablebaeby get mind dey sub am .. Fooooooooooool.”
READ ALSO: I Wanted My Face In My v@gina – American Singer Speaks On Her Sexuality
A former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022.
The Lagos State Police Command had, on September 18, 2023, inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s death.
A probe into his death also led to the arrest of Naira Marley and controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, among others.
The duo’s had before their arrest faced criticism for allegedly mistreating Mohbad before his passing in September 2023.
News
86-year-old Injured As Fire Guts Building In Kwara
Published
40 mins agoon
April 27, 2024By
EditorA late-morning fire that gutted a residential building in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Saturday, has left an 86-year-old man with injuries.
The spokesperson for the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
Adekunle noted that the fire started at about noon when the octogenarian, who was reportedly cooking, stepped out to attend to someone but returned to the sight of the fire.
One room in the 12-room building located at Afolayan Street in the state capital was said to have been destroyed in the fire alongside some properties.
Adekunle narrated, “Upon arrival, they found a 12-room building with only one room affected, containing belongings and personal items that were lost to the inferno. The firefighters showcased their expertise, in containing the fire and preventing further damage to adjacent buildings.
“Investigations revealed that an 86-year-old occupant had been cooking and momentarily stepped out to attend to someone. Upon returning, he discovered his apartment was on fire.
“In a state of distress, he re-entered the burning apartment, possibly to retrieve belongings, and suffered injuries, including burns to the hair on his head. The injured man was promptly taken to the nearest hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.”
The spokesperson however urged residents of the state to be fire safety conscious while commiserating with the victim.
“The Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John, expressed sympathy for the octogenarian’s injuries and emphasised the importance of fire safety awareness, urging the public to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions to prevent such incidents,” Adekunle said.
PUNCH Online reported on Friday that a resident’s failure to properly extinguish a charcoal fire used for cooking on Thursday night resulted in a fire that engulfed a 40-room flat at the Ile Muse compound, off Emir’s Road in Ilorin, Kwara State.
It was gathered that 9 of the 40 rooms at No. E143, Ile Muse, off Emir’s road, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara were consumed by the inferno that engulfed the building early on Friday.
Eye witness account corroborated by the report of the state fire service said that the fire incident started in the wee hours of Friday and was caused by an unextinguished fire from Charcoal left in the night by one of the residents after cooking her meals.
EFCC Boss Appoints Chief Of Staff, 14 Zonal Directors
Why I Hate Mohbad More In Death – Naira Marley’s Associate
86-year-old Injured As Fire Guts Building In Kwara
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