 |
| President Muhammadu Buhari. |
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project
(SERAP) has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to order President Muhammadu
Buhari to publish the details of loans that have been obtained by his
administration since May 29, 2015.The Deputy Director of SERAP, Mr. Kolawole
Oluwadare, said in a statement on Sunday in Lagos that SERAP also sought the
details of the interest rate on such loans, the total amount of debts that have
so far been incurred by the government, and details of the projects on which
the loans have been spent.
It explained that
the request was made in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/785/2020 filed before the
court in Abuja.
According to the
statement, the respondents joined in the case included Nigeria’s Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami;
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; and the
Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha.
However, no date has
been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
It recalled that the
National Assembly had approved a loan of N850 billion and another $22.79
billion loan requested by the President for government projects and others.
On stolen loans,
SERAP sought “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to
tell Nigerians the names of countries and bodies that have given the loans,
specific repayment conditions, and whether any public officers solicited and/or
received bribes in the negotiations for any of the loans, and if there is plan
to audit the spending of the loans, to resolve any allegations of mismanagement
and corruption.”
It also asked the
court to “direct and compel President Buhari to tell Nigerians if he would
instruct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to
monitor the spending of all loans obtained since May 2015.”
The group believes
the opacity in the spending of loans will continue to have negative impacts on
the fundamental interests of citizens.
It, however,
stressed that transparency would ensure that the loans were not diverted to
private pockets, increase public trust that such loans would be used to benefit
Nigerians, provide good value for money, and reassure Nigeria’s creditors.
“This suit is
permitted under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the UN Convention against Corruption to which
Nigeria is a state party.
“While access to
loans can provide indispensable resources, the mismanagement and squandering of
any such resources would be counter-productive. Nigerians should no longer be
made to repay debts incurred in their name, but which have not benefited them
in any manner, shape, or form,” the group said.
It explained that
the suit followed its FoI request dated May 30, 2020 and addressed to the
President in which it raised concerns that while governments since 1999 have
borrowed money in the name of Nigeria and its citizens, much of the funds have
reportedly been mismanaged, stolen or squandered, leaving the citizens with the
burden of having to repay such loans.
The suit was filed
on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Oluwadare and Adelanke Aremo.
No comments:
Post a Comment