Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent an open
letter to President Muhammadu Buhari requesting him to “use your good
offices and leadership to urgently take concrete measures to address and
mitigate the negative effects of the economic recession and crisis on the
poorest and most marginalized across the country.”
The letter dated 2 September 2016 and signed by SERAP senior staff counsel
Timothy Adewale expressed concern that “the economic crisis is having
disproportionate impacts on the rights of the poorest and most
marginalized, who are the most vulnerable because they already suffer from
years of corruption, underdevelopment and abuse of power.”
The organization asked President Buhari to “Urgently provide the socially
and economically vulnerable with social protection programs and
safety-nets to protect them from severe poverty and deprivation”, and
“immediately drop the proposed 10 per cent tax on phone calls, text
messages, data and more, as this would disproportionately affect the
socially and economically vulnerable and push them deeper into poverty and
deprivation.”
The organization also asked the President to “Urgently propose legislation
and constitutional amendment that would end the practice of budgeting
billions of Naira as ‘security votes’ for the Federal Government and the
36 state governments, as the diversion of the funds has continued to
undermine the ability of the government to provide essential goods and
services across the country.”
The letter reads in part: “Increased poverty and the hunger that it brings
will threaten the right to life and health of many socially and
economically vulnerable, including women and children. These groups of
people are bearing the brunt and feeling the impacts of the economic
crisis on their standards of living, their jobs and their homes.”
“Your government has a binding obligation to ensure that all its policies
to address the economic crisis are consistent with standards of human
rights law. At the same time, the role of your government is to act as the
guarantor of human rights of millions of impoverished Nigerians, including
economic and social rights. Economic recession cannot be used as excuse
for failing to fulfil these rights.”
“We urge President Buhari to immediately provide economic stimulus
packages that are focused on limiting the worst human consequences of the
crisis, and give priority attention to the most vulnerable and
marginalized in the distribution of resources.”
“Buhari should put pressure on the National Assembly to cut its budget and
spending, which in 2016 alone is N115 billion. The sum of N150 billion
each was allocated to the National Assembly in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014
while N115 billion was allocated in 2015. These huge budget allocations
cannot be justified and must stop.”
“Buhari should immediately cut the sum of N103.47m budgeted for foodstuff
and catering materials in the Presidential Villa, and put pressure on the
36 state governments (including the Ondo State government which budgeted
N103.2m for feeding and entertainment of the state governor in 2016 and
the Cross River state government which budgeted the sum of N1.4bn for
entertainment and hospitality for the governor), to cut these outrageous
budget allocations and use the funds for social services and to pay
workers’ salaries.”
“The economic recession is devastating lives and livelihoods across the
country, and quickly translating into rising unemployment among Nigerian
youths, hunger and powerlessness. Exacerbated by the failure of many state
governments to pay workers’ salaries timely, this situation has pushed
millions of Nigerians deeper into poverty. Yet, there are no social
protection and human rights-based responses to the economic crisis.”
“SERAP is also concerned that the economic recession threatens the full
range of human rights, particularly economic and social rights such as the
right to an adequate standard of living and the rights to health, housing,
food and education.”
“SERAP believes that the economic crisis is a human rights concern not
only because of the serious consequences on human rights, but also because
of the underlying structural causes of the crisis which relate directly to
unfettered pursuit of self-interest and failures of successive governments
to respect, protect and fulfill economic and social rights.”
“Under international human rights law, your government is responsible for
creating the conditions in which Nigerians and other people living in the
country can effectively exercise the full range of their human rights,
including economic and social rights. These rights set out the basic
minimum standards against which the actions (and failures to act) of your
government can be judged.”
“SERAP believes that the economic crisis in the country is a threat to
human rights, but also an opportunity to prioritise compliance with human
rights obligations, particularly those related to economic and social
rights, as well as to fast-track prosecution of corruption cases and
recovery of stolen assets.”
“Despite the human rights dimensions of the crisis, the language of human
rights is still largely absent from the diagnoses or prescriptions
proposed by your government. There has been little analysis of either the
causes or the consequences of the economic crisis in human rights terms.
The duty to respect is essentially a duty to “do no harm.” Thus, your
government must work diligently to avoid and mitigate any negative impacts
of the crisis on the poorest and most marginalized groups, whose rights
are being violated.”
SERAP also urged President Buhari to:
1. Move swiftly to avoid and mitigate the negative effects of the
economic recession on human dignity and human rights of several Nigerians
living in poverty by urgently providing the socially and economically
vulnerable with social protection programs and safety-nets to protect them
from severe poverty and deprivation
2. Immediately guarantee minimum levels of economic and social rights
essential for survival and human dignity, including the rights to health,
food, housing and education
3. Fully integrate human rights principles and standards, such as
participation, transparency, accountability and redress into the
initiatives developed to respond to the economic crisis, and identify
longer-term measures that address the structural causes of the crisis that
impinge on the government’s ability to meet its human rights obligations
and responsibilities to its own citizens