SERAP Seeks Probe Of Social Intervention Spending

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to probe spending on all social safety nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects executed between 2015 and 2022.

SERAP also urged the President to publish the findings of the investigation and ensure suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of public funds meant to take care of the poor are prosecuted as appropriate.

The group made the demands in an open letter dated November 19, 2022 and signed by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare.

SERAP stated that the probe is necessary in the light of a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows damning revelations that some 133 million Nigerians are poor, despite the government reportedly spending N500 billion yearly on ‘social investment programmes.’ Half of all poor people in the country are children.

It also stressed the report suggests a grave violation of the public trust, the lack of political will to genuinely address poverty and uphold your government’s constitutional and international human rights obligations.

The organisation maintained that the report that 133 million Nigerians are poor suggests corruption and mismanagement in the spending of trillions of naira on social safety nets and poverty alleviation programmes, including the reported disbursement of over $700 million from the repatriated Abacha looted funds to these programmes.

SERAP also said the government has legal obligations to effectively and progressively address and combat extreme poverty as a matter of human rights.

It added that the failure to address extreme poverty has resulted in high levels of inequality, and serious violations of economic and social rights of Nigerians, particularly the socially and economically vulnerable sector of the population.

The letter, copied to Mr. Olivier DE SCHUTTER, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, read in part, “these grim revelations by the NBS show the failure to fulfil your oft-repeated promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, and that no one will be left behind.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

“The report also shows that the purported social safety nets and poverty alleviation programmes are not working. It also shows a failure by your government to uphold the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights of the Nigerian people.

“SERAP notes that the consequences of corruption are felt by citizens daily. Corruption exposes them to additional costs to pay for health, education and administrative services.

“Corruption undermines the economic development of the country, trapping the majority of Nigerians in poverty and depriving them of employment opportunities.

“The 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey reveals that 65% of the poor (86 million people) live in the North, while 35% (nearly 47 million) live in the South. Poverty levels across States vary significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from a low of 27% in Ondo to a high of 91% in Sokoto.

“The NBS also shows that over half of the population of Nigeria are multi-dimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than clean energy. High deprivations also appeared nationally in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity, and housing. Half of all poor people are children.

“SERAP also urges you to prioritise investment in quality education and healthcare, and to redirect some of the unnecessary spending in the 2023 budget such as spending by the presidency on feeding and travels, and money allocated to the National Assembly in the budget to address poverty as a human rights issue.

“Your government has a sacred duty to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of the country’s resources, including the spending of public funds on social safety nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects.’’