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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Ms
Sadia Umar-Farouk, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters
Management and Social Development to “publish details of proposed
payments of N729bn to 24.3 million poor Nigerians for six months,
including the mechanisms and logistics for the payments, list of
beneficiaries, and how they have been selected, projected payments per
state, and whether the payments will be made in cash or through Bank
Verification Numbers or other means.”
SERAP also urged her to “explain the rationale for paying N5,000 to 24.3
million poor Nigerians, which translates to five-percent of the
country’s budget of N13.6 trillion for 2021, and to clarify if this
proposed spending is part of the N5.6 trillion budget deficit.”
Ms Sadia Umar-Farouk had last week disclosed that the Federal Government
would pay about 24.3 million poor Nigerians N5,000 each for a period of
six months to “provide help to those impoverished by the COVID-19
pandemic.”
In the Freedom of Information request dated 23 January 2021 and signed
by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said:
“Publishing the details of beneficiaries and selection criteria, as well
as the payment plan for six months would promote transparency and
accountability, and remove the risks of mismanagement and diversion of
public funds.”
SERAP said: “Transparency and accountability in the programme would
improve public trust, and allow Nigerians to track and monitor its
implementation, and to assess if the programme is justified, as well as
to hold authorities to account in cases of diversion, mismanagement and
corruption.”
SERAP also urged Ms Umar-Farouk to: “invite the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly track and monitor the
payments.”
The FoI request, read in part: “We would be grateful if the requested
information is provided to us within seven days of the receipt and/or
publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP
shall take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of
Information Act to compel you to comply with our request.”
“Providing support and assistance to socially and economically
vulnerable Nigerians is a human rights obligation but the programme to
spend five-percent of the 2021 budget, which is mostly based on deficit
and borrowing, requires anti-corruption safeguards to ensure the
payments go directly to the intended beneficiaries, and that public
funds are not mismanaged or diverted.”
“SERAP notes that the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended], UN
Convention against Corruption, and African Union Convention on
Preventing and Combating Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party
require the government to set the highest standards of transparency,
accountability and probity in programmes that it oversees.”
“The government has a responsibility to ensure that these requirements
and other anti-corruption controls are fully implemented and monitored,
and that the payments are justified in light of the huge budget deficit
and borrowing, and whether there are better ways to spend N729bn to
support poor Nigerians.”
“Several questions remain as to the implementation and monitoring
mechanisms for the payments, and whether this is the best and most
effective way to spend N729bn to support socially and economically
vulnerable Nigerians.”
“Our requests are brought in the public interest, and in keeping with
the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the
Freedom of Information Act, and UN Convention against Corruption,
African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state
party.”
“By Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011, and
Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, SERAP is
entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information,
including information on details of beneficiaries of the direct payments
of N729bn.”
“By Section 4 (a) of the FoI Act, when a person makes a request for
information from a public official, institution or agency, the public
official, institution or urgency to whom the application is directed is
under a binding legal obligation to provide the applicant with the
information requested for, except as otherwise provided by the Act,
within seven days after the application is received.”
“By Sections 2(3)(d)(V) & (4) of the FoI Act, there is a binding legal
duty to ensure that documents containing information including
information on details of payments of N729bn to N24.3 million poor and
vulnerable Nigerians are widely disseminated and made readily available
to members of the public through various means.”
“The information being requested does not come within the purview of the
types of information exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the
FoI Act. The information requested for as indicated above, apart from
not being exempted from disclosure under the FoI Act, bothers on an
issue of national interest, public concern, interest of human rights,
social justice, good governance, transparency and accountability.”