The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has initiated a lawsuit against 36 state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
The lawsuit alleges the failure of these officials to account for trillions of naira received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) since 1999.
Filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the suit seeks to compel the governors and Mr. Wike to disclose detailed spending records of FAAC allocations collected by their states and the FCT. This includes providing a list and locations of projects funded with these allocations.
SERAP’s action follows reports that the FAAC disbursed N1.123 trillion in March 2024 and N1.208 trillion in April 2024 to federal, state, and local governments. Specifically, states received N398.689 billion in March and N403.403 billion in April.
The organization argues that the lack of transparency in the spending of these allocations significantly impacts the fundamental interests of Nigerian citizens, particularly the socially and economically vulnerable.
SERAP claims that trillions of naira meant for public projects and services have been mismanaged or diverted, exacerbating poverty and undermining public trust.
In their filing, SERAP’s legal team, consisting of Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo, emphasized the constitutional and international obligations of Nigerian officials to ensure accountability and transparency. They highlighted that the opacity in FAAC spending violates sections of the Nigerian Constitution and international anti-corruption commitments.
SERAP has also called for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate any corruption linked to the FAAC allocations and to oversee the proper utilization of these funds.
