The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent
Freedom of Information Act requests to both the Senate President Dr Bukola
Sakari and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr Dogara Yakubu
requesting them to “urgently provide information about alleged spending of
N500 billion as running cost between 2006 and 2016, and the monthly income
and allowances of each Senator and member.”
SERAP’s request followed disclosure by Abdulmumin Jibrin that Nigerian
Senators and House of Representatives members have pocketed N500 billion
as ‘running cost’ out of the N1 trillion provided for in the National
Assembly budgets between 2006 and 2016, and by former president Olusegun
Obasanjo that each Senator goes home with nothing less than N15m monthly
while each member receives nothing less than N10m monthly.
The organization threatened to “take all appropriate legal actions under
the Freedom of Information Act to compel the Senate President and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives to comply with the request if “the
information is not provided to us within 7 days of the receipt and/or
publication of this letter.”
In the letter of request dated 25 November 2016 and signed by SERAP
executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization, said that, “We are
seriously concerned that details of the National Assembly budgets and
income and allowances receive by its members over the years remain
shrouded in secrecy, and hidden from Nigerians. Alleged stealing or
mismanagement of N500 billions of public funds may be responsible for the
economic crisis and attendant hardships being faced by millions of
Nigerians.”
The identical FOI requests read in part: “Representative democracy
requires more than the simple casting of ballots in periodic elections.
Only when Nigerians in general have access to concrete information about
the running cost and other critical spending and financial details by the
National Assembly can citizens make well-informed choices and can
politicians be held accountable.”
“In the face of these overwhelming allegations of corruption, the
leadership cannot continue to claim that public perception that many
law-makers are in the National Assembly in pursuit of self-interest is off
the mark.”
“SERAP believes that secrecy in parliamentary spending has resulted in
lapse of accountability for Senators and members of the House of
Representatives, and this could ultimately endanger the healthy
development of the rule of law and good governance in the country.”
“SERAP believes that secrecy in the spending by the National Assembly and
the monthly income and allowances of its members contributes to and
enables poor governance. It undermines the ability of the government to
spend wisely on behalf of Nigerians, and erodes the integrity and
authority of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order
and good government in the country.”
“Transparency in the spending by the National Assembly and income of its
members is a key element of justice, which is essential for an open
legislative process, and can serve as a confidence building measure by the
lawmakers to regain the trust of Nigerians.”
“SERAP argues that the level of transparency in spending by the National
Assembly—be it the Senate or the House of Representatives—and the monthly
income and allowances of its members is an important measure of the
democratic nature of our government, and is especially important for the
National Assembly.”
“These are serious allegations, which require your immediate and urgent
clarifications and public disclosure. If true, such allegations will
clearly amount to a fundamental breach of national anticorruption laws and
the country’s international anticorruption obligations and commitments
including under the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a
state party.”
“By virtue of Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011,
SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to
information, including information on the alleged spending of N500 billion
by the National Assembly and on the incomes and allowances receive by its
members, if the said information is in the custody or possession of any
public official, agency or institution.”
“By virtue of 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
7 days after the application is received.”
“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, apart from not being exempted from
disclosure under the FOI Act, bothers on an issue of national interest,
public peace and concern, interest of human rights, social justice, good
governance, transparency and accountability.”
“The disclosure of the information requested will give SERAP and the
general public a true picture on how exactly the alleged N500 billion
running cost has been spent as well as other critical financial details.”