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SERAP sues Saraki, Dogara over alleged diversion of N500bn running cost

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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a human rights group, has asked Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara to come explain before a court how lawmakers spent N500billion running cost in the last 10 years.

The suit emanated from the claims by the suspended House of Representatives former Appropriation Committee Chairman, Abdulmumin Jibrin that the lawmakers have snaffled not less than N500 billion as running costs in the last 10 years.

The Executive Director of SERAP, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, who disclosed the group’s move in a statement released on Monday, said that the organisation has no choice than sue the Senate President and the House Speaker after their failure to respond to two letters demanding their responses to Jibrin’s allegation that lawmakers side-tracked N500bn tagged ‘running cost’ between 2006 and 2016.

He went further to say that Saraki and Dogara also neglected SERAP’s entreaty that they disclose the monthly income of each lawmaker following the claim by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that a lawmaker pockets home no less than N10million and N15million every month.

Read also: CONSTITUTION: Why immunity clause has to remain -Reps

Reliefs SERAP is seeking in court include, that the court issue a mandamus order compelling Saraki and Dogara to give explanation of how the lawmakers expended N500 billion running cost that was part of the N1trillion budgetary allocation to the National Assembly between 2006 and 2016. That the court should compel Saraki and Dogara to point at the projects accomplished with the allegedly diverted N500bn and that Saraki and Dogara should be mandated to make open the monthly income of each lawmaker.

According to SERAP, the failure of the leadership of the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly to make available the information it wanted from them was a violation of Articles 9, 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which guaranteed the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability.

 

 

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