The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has instituted a suit against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over his inability to refer the alleged N3.7 trillion budget padding to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.
The suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/452/2024 was filed on Friday, April 5 at the Federal High Court, Abuja, by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare (who is also the organisation’s Deputy Director) and Mrs Adelanke Aremo.
This was disclosed on Sunday in a statement issued by Oluwadare, and made available to journalists.
The organisation added that “Mr Akpabio is sued on behalf of all members of Nigeria’s Senate.”
Recall that Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, was suspended for three months by the Senate on March 12, 2024, over his allegations of budget padding.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, the senator had claimed that the budget being implemented by the Presidency is N28.7tn, whereas the one approved by the National Assembly for the 2024 fiscal year was N25tn.
“We found that N3tn was added to the budget for unlocated projects. Under Senator Akpabio’s direction, this is the largest budget padding that has ever occurred in Nigerian history,” Ningi stated.
A portion of the lawsuit stated, “Granting this application is in the public interest and the interest of justice.” A whistleblower should never face consequences only for disclosing information in the public interest.
“An order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio to refer the alleged N3.7 trillion budget padding to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution of suspected perpetrators,” according to SERAP’s statement, was what it was requesting.
“An order of mandamus to direct and compel Mr Akpabio to immediately take steps to ensure the reinstatement of whistleblower Abdul Ningi who was suspended from the Senate over his allegations that the lawmakers padded the 2024 budget by irregularly inserting projects worth N3.7 trillion.
“An order of mandamus to compel Mr Akpabio to act promptly to guarantee the reinstatement of whistleblower Abdul Ningi, who was suspended from the Senate due to his claims that the lawmakers had included projects worth N3.7 trillion improperly to pad the 2024 budget.
“An order of mandamus is necessary to ensure that the trillions of Naira allocated for constituency projects are not misappropriated, embezzled, or diverted into the coffers of private individuals. It also commands and compels Mr Akpabio to establish transparency and accountability.”
The organisation also stated that “granting this application would serve the public interest, encourage whistleblowers to speak up, improve public services, and ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.”
Adding that directing Akpabio to refer the allegations to the EFCC and ICPC “would be entirely consistent and compatible with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international obligations,” and “would also ensure probity and accountability in the budget process.”
Reacting to the issue recently, Akpabio’s counsel, Umeh Kalu (SAN), had said that the decision and resolution to suspend Ningi was that of the Senate sitting in plenary and not that of his client, Akpabio.
Kalu stated this in a letter to Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) titled, “Re: Request to Lift the Suspension of Sen. Abdul Ningi” and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday last week.
However, SERAP noted that the “suspension of Senator Ningi by the Senate followed a seriously flawed process and it amounts to retaliation.” While no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit, SERAP indicated that “budget padding and corruption” allegations over past years “have contributed to widespread poverty, underdevelopment and lack of access to public goods and services.”
They also added that proper investigation and prosecution “would end the impunity of perpetrators. It would build trust in democratic institutions with the ultimate aim of strengthening the rule of law.”
The statement read further, “Senator Ningi is a whistleblower, who is protected under article 33 of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party. Senator Ningi is a whistleblower because of his public interest disclosures on alleged budget padding and corruption in the Senate in the context of carrying out his work as Senator.
“We have received information from Senator Abdul Ningi, the former Northern Senators Forum (NSF) Chairperson, indicating that the lawmakers consulted a private auditor and found anomalies in the budget.”
According to reports, Senator Ningi stated, “For instance, we had a budget of N28 trillion, but after conducting extensive checks, we discovered that it was a budget of N25 trillion. What are we going to do with the extra N3 trillion, and where did we acquire it from?
“The National Assembly arbitrarily put 7,447 projects totalling N2.24 trillion into the 2024 budget, according to BudgIT. The budget included 281 projects totalling N491 billion and 3,706 projects between N100 and N500 million, totalling N759 billion.”
