Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has threatened to drag state governors and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to court if they failed to account for the trillions they received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) since 1999.
SERAP gave the governors and Nyesom Wike seven days to provide it with documents on how much money they received from the FAAC in a Freedom of Information (FoI), request signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
The civil society organisation also urged them to invite the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to track and monitor the spending of FAAC allocations jointly and to probe any allegations of corruption linked to the allocations.
In the FoI requests dated April 20, 2024, SERAP stated that Nigerians ought to know in what manner public funds, including FAAC allocations, are spent.
It also insisted that without the information, Nigerians cannot follow the actions of their states and the FCT and cannot adequately fulfil their responsibilities as citizens.
The organisation claimed that trillions of FAAC allocations received by Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT have allegedly gone down the drain, which had resulted in human costs directly threatening the human rights of socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.
SERAP maintained that the FAAC allocations received by states and the FCT are spent to achieve the security and welfare of Nigerians are serious and legitimate public interests.
The organisation said secrecy in the spending of FAAC allocations received by states and the FCT is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international anti-corruption obligations.
It also added that secrecy in the spending of FAAC allocations received by states and the FCT also denies Nigerians the right to know how public funds are spent and that transparency in the spending would allow them to retain control over their government.
SERAP stated, „The documents should include the evidence and list of specific projects completed with the FAAC allocations collected, the locations of any such projects and completion reports of the projects.
“The documents should also include details of the salaries and pensions paid from the FAAC allocations collected, as well as the details of projects executed on hospitals and schools with the FAAC allocations.
“Despite the increased FAAC allocations to states and FCT, millions of residents in your state and the FCT continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.
“The reported removal of petrol subsidy and the floating exchange rate by the Federal Government has translated into increased FAAC allocations to states and the FCT. However, there is no corresponding improvement in the security and welfare of millions of Nigerians.“
