The World Bank Access to Information Committee has asked for more time to<\/p>\n
reach a decision on the appeal lodged with it by Socio-Economic Rights and
\nAccountability Project, (SERAP) regarding spending of recovered stolen
\nfunds by the late General Sani Abacha.<\/p>\n
The letter addressed to Olukayode Majekodunmi SERAP deputy director and
\nreceived yesterday by the organization reads in part: \u201cIn response to your
\nappeal under Case Number AI3982-A, this is to inform you that your appeal
\nremains under consideration by the Access to Information Committee in
\naccordance with the World Bank\u2019s Access to Information Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Access to Information Committee makes its best efforts to reach a
\ndecision on appeals within 45 working days of receiving an appeal. In this
\ncase, the Access to Information Committee needs additional time to reach a
\ndecision. We appreciate your patience while the Access to Information
\nCommittee considers your appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that SERAP in the appeal dated 5 February 2016 said
\nthat it considered the decision not to reveal important portions of the
\ninformation requested on how Abacha loot was spent \u201ca serious violation of
\nthe AI Policy, as it amounts to improper or unreasonable restriction of
\naccess to information.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organisation said, \u201cFollowing receipt of several documents from the
\nWorld Bank totalling over 700 pages on the Abacha loot, SERAP commenced
\nindependent investigations and verification of some of the information
\nsupplied with appropriate agencies and institutions of government.\u201d<\/p>\n
The appeal reads in part: \u201cSERAP is concerned that the World Bank failed
\nand\/or neglected to provide several portions of the information requested
\non the spending of recovered Abacha loot managed by the Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP notes that one of the guiding principles of the Policy on Access to
\nInformation (AI Policy) is recognizing the right to an appeals process
\nwhen a request for information in the World Bank’s possession is
\nimproperly or unreasonably denied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP argues that there is a strong public interest case here to override
\nthe corporate administrative matters, deliberative information or
\nfinancial information exceptions of the AI Policy if the information being
\nrequested falls under one of these exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP believes that it is not harmful for the Bank to disclose specific
\ndetails of the information requested. SERAP also notes that the sole
\nremedy available to those who prevail in the appeals process is to receive
\nthe information requested.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP therefore requested the Access to Information (AI) Appeals Board to
\nexercise its prerogative and allow disclosure of the following specific
\ninformation and any feedback from the World Bank Evaluation Team on the
\nissues below:<\/p>\n
1. Evidence and list of the 23 projects allegedly completed with
\nrecovered Abacha loot, and whether the 26 projects where actually
\ncompleted; and what became of the 2 abandoned projects.<\/p>\n
2. Evidence and location of the 8 health centers built with recovered
\nAbacha loot reviewed by the World Bank<\/p>\n
3. Evidence and location of the 18 power projects confirmed by the
\nWorld Bank<\/p>\n
4. How the $50mn Abacha loot received before 2005 kept in the special
\naccount was spent<\/p>\n
5. Evidence and location of schools which benefited from the Universal
\nBasic Education (UBE) program in the amount of NGN24.25bn<\/p>\n
6. Evidence and location of the 13 road projects completed with the
\nrecovered Abacha loot, including the names of the 3 of the largest road
\nand bridge projects in each geo-political zone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The World Bank Access to Information Committee has asked for more time to reach a decision on the appeal lodged with it by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) regarding…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n