The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) announced its intention to file a lawsuit against the Federal Government regarding the allotment of N70 billion to the National Assembly.
On Thursday, the National Assembly ratified a modification to the N819.5 billion supplementary budget for 2022, endorsing a provision of N70 billion to enhance the “working environment” of recently elected legislators.
One of the revisions aims to allocate N500 billion in relief measures to Nigerian citizens as a means to allete the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
The revision received approval from both the Senate and the House of Representatives a day after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu forwarded the proposal to the legislature.
On Thursday, SERAP urged President Tinubu’s administration to retract the allotment, citing concerns. On Friday, SERAP took to Twitter to announce its legal action against the Tinubu administration for the illicit bestowal and allotment of N70 billion to the National Assembly.
This move comes at a critical juncture when approximately 137 million Nigerians find themselves in dire poverty, which has been worsened by the elimination of fuel subsidy.
Before this, SERAP had urged Tinubu to disclose the specifics regarding the intended disbursement of N8,000 per month to 12 million impoverished households for six months.
The advocacy organization declared its intention to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) petition, compelling the President to disclose the specifics of the fund distribution.
“We are submitting an FOI petition to enforce transparency from the Tinubu administration regarding the comprehensive particulars of the planned provision of N8,000 every month to 12 million poor households for six months.
This includes the roster of intended beneficiaries, the criteria for their selection, and the proposed payment procedures.”
NigeriaNow (
)
