The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas over the unlawful plan to spend ₦40billion on 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials, and N70bn as palliatives for new members.
In the lawsuit, SERAP also sought 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 N110 billion to reflect the current economic realities in the country.
The suit is coming on the heels of the statement by Akpabio that the Clerk of the National Assembly had sent ‘holiday allowances’ into the ‘various bank accounts of senators’ amid some 137 million Nigerians who are facing extreme poverty.
In suit number FHC/L/CS/1606/2023 filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, SERAP is seeking ‘an order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas to review and reduce the N40 billion budgeted to buy 465 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials.’
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SERAP also sought an order restraining Akpabio and Abbas from demanding or receiving the N40 billion to buy 465 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.
In the suit, SERAP is arguing 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.’
The organisation said the proposed spending of ₦110 billion by members of the National Assembly is apparently on top of the N281 billion already provided for the lawmakers in the 2023 National Assembly budget. It said the proposed spending is also different from the N30.17 billion budgeted for the ‘inauguration expenses’ for new members.
It said: ‘Unless the reliefs sought are granted, the lawmakers will spend the N110billion, and the travesty, and apparent conflicts of interest and self-dealing by members of the National Assembly would continue. It a fundamental breach of their fiduciary duties for members of the National Assembly to arbitrarily increase their own budget and to use the budget as a tool to satisfy the lifestyle of lawmakers. 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 was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Blessing Ogwuche.
Meanwhile, serving and former lawmakers of the National Assembly, who double as members of ‘The Initiatives’, have commended the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate for starting up on a good footing, contrary to concerns that the upper chamber was going to be an appendage of the executive.