There is prospect Nigerians keen about knowing how exactly their governors
\nspent\u00a0Paris club refunds disbursement may soon have some answers, as a
\nFederal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos last Friday granted
\nSocio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) leave \u201cto apply
\nfor judicial relief and to seek an order of mandamus directing and\/or
\ncompelling the government to publish details of spending of
\nN388.304billion London Paris Club Loan refunds allegedly diverted and
\nmismanaged by 35 States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justice\u00a0Muslim\u00a0Hassan ruled that SERAP could proceed with the legal SERAP is also seeking an order \u201cfor the Attorney-General of the Federation The suit read in part: \u201cThe orders sought are necessary to know exactly \u201cThe Applicant argues that allegations of corruption and mismanagement of \u201cThe Federal Government has a constitutional and statutory obligation to \u201cSince the receipt of SERAP\u2019s letter dated 17th March, 2017, and up till SERAP is seeking the following reliefs:<\/p>\n A DECLARATION that the failure of the Respondent to urgently compile and AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS compelling the Respondent to urgently compile and \u201cUnless the reliefs sought are granted, the Respondent will not It would be recalled that the Federal Government released N388.304billion Others are: Imo 13bn; Jigawa 13.2bn; Niger N13.4bn; Bauchi N12.7bn and There is prospect Nigerians keen about knowing how exactly their governors spent\u00a0Paris club refunds disbursement may soon have some answers, as a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos last…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nchallenge to unravel how exactly 35 states spent Paris Club loan refunds.
\nJustice Hassan while granting leave stressed that it was important for the
\nauthorities \u201cto come and tell us how they spent our money.\u201d
\nThe order granting leave by the court followed the hearing of an argument
\nin court on exparte motion by SERAP counsel Ms Bamisope Ibidolapo.
\nThe order by Justice Hassan has now cleared the way for SERAP to advance
\nits case against the Federal Government and state governors. The motion on
\nnotice is set for Wednesday 14 September 2017<\/span><\/span> for the hearing of argument
\non why the government should not be directed and compelled to public
\ndetails of projects on which the Paris Club loan refunds were spent.
\nIt would be recalled that in the suit number FCH\/CS\/523\/17 filed in April
\nsought \u201can order to compel the Accountant General of the Federation Alh.
\nAhmed Idris, to compile and pass on to the Attorney-General of the
\nFederation and Minister of Justice, Abubabar Malami, SAN, information
\nrelating to the release and spending of N388.304billion London Paris Club
\nLoan refunds to the states.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nto use the information on the spending by the 35 states to initiate legal
\naction against the States that allegedly diverted and mismanaged the funds
\nwith a view to compelling the states to widely publish, including on a
\ndedicated website, details of spending of the funds by them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nwhat happened to the Paris Club refunds, and the release of the
\ninformation including on a dedicated website would be deemed incidental to
\nthe power of the federal government to achieve effective implementation of
\nanticorruption legislation, and will not amount to interference with
\nactivities within the states involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nN388.304 billion London Paris Club loan refunds by states have undermined
\nthe human dignity of workers and pensioners facing difficult circumstances
\nthat deprive them of their capacity to fully realize their internationally
\nrecognized economic and social rights.\u201d
\n\u201cThe allegations of corruption in the spending of the London Paris Club
\nloan refunds have also exacerbated poverty, social exclusion, and violated
\nthe government\u2019s obligation to use its maximum available resources to
\nfully realize the right of all persons especially workers and pensioners
\nwho are the most vulnerable sectors of the population.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ncontribute to the eradication of corrupt practices and abuse of power,
\nensure proper organization and maintenance of all information in its
\ncustody in a manner that facilitates public access to such information,
\nand make readily this available to applicants whenever it is sought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthe filing of this suit, the government has so far failed, refused and\/ or
\nneglected to pass on to the Attorney-General of the Federation and
\nMinister of Justice, information relating to the release and spending of
\nN388.304billion London Paris Club Loan refunds to 35 States by the Federal
\nGovernment for appropriate legal action against the states.\u201d<\/p>\n
\npass on to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
\ninformation relating to the release and spending of N388.304billion London
\nParis Club Loan refunds to 35 States by the Federal Government, so that
\nthe Attorney-General of the Federation can take steps to initiate legal
\naction against the States that allegedly diverted and mismanaged the funds
\nwith a view to compelling the states to widely publish, including on a
\ndedicated website, details of spending of the funds by them is
\nunconstitutional and unlawful as it contradicts and in conflict with the
\nduties and obligations of the Respondent under the Constitution of the
\nFederal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Corrupt Practices and
\nOther Related Offences Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information Act 2011.<\/p>\n
\npass on to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,
\ninformation relating to the release and spending of N388.304billion London
\nParis Club Loan refunds to 35 States by the Federal Government, so that
\nthe Attorney-General of the Federation can take steps to initiate legal
\naction against the States that allegedly diverted and mismanaged the funds
\nwith a view to compelling the states to widely publish, including on a
\ndedicated website, details of spending of the funds by them.<\/p>\n
\nimmediately compile and pass on information to the Attorney General of the
\nFederation regarding the release and spending of the London Paris Club
\nLoan refunds to enable him take steps to pursue appropriate legal action
\nagainst states that allegedly diverted and mismanaged the loan refunds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nof the N522.74 billion to 35 states as refunds of over-deductions on
\nLondon-Paris Club loans. The amounts received by the states are as
\nfollows: Akwa Ibom N14.5bn; Bayelsa N14.5bn; Delta N14.5bn; Kaduna
\nN14.3bn; Katsina N14,5bn; Lagos N14.5bn; Rivers N14.5bn; and Borno
\nN13,654138,849.49.<\/p>\n
\nBenue N12.7bn, Anambra N11.3bn; Cross River N11.3bn8; Edo N11.3bn; Kebbi
\nN11bn; Kogi N11.2bn; Osun N11.7bn; Sokoto N11.9bn; Abia N10.6bn; Ogun
\nN10.6bn; Plateau N10.4bn; Yobe N10bn; and Zamfara N10bn. Other states are:
\nAdamawa N4.8bn; Ebonyi N3.3bn; Ekiti N8.8bn; Enugu N9.9bn; Gombe N8.3bn;
\nKwara N5.4bn; Nasarawa N8.4bn; Ondo N6.5bn; Oyo N7.2bn and Taraba N4.2bn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"