By Our Reporter
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas. The lawsuit accuses them of failing to end what SERAP claims is an unlawful practice by the National Assembly of setting its own allowances and running costs, and of not accounting for these payments.
SERAP’s suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja under case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1289/2024, seeks several court orders. It requests a mandamus to compel Akpabio and Abbas to end the alleged practice of the National Assembly fixing its own remuneration and allowances, and to disclose the exact amount and details of these running costs. Additionally, SERAP wants the court to mandate an end to the practice of paying these costs into lawmakers’ personal accounts.
The organization argues that the National Assembly’s actions violate the Nigerian Constitution, which prohibits self-fixing of salaries and allowances. SERAP also contends that depositing public funds into private accounts breaches federal financial regulations and undermines public trust.
SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Andrew Nwankwo, and Blessing Ogwuche, assert that such practices conflict with lawmakers’ constitutional oath and the UN Convention against Corruption. The suit aims to enhance transparency and accountability, reinforcing the rule of law and public confidence in democratic institutions.
The complaint follows recent claims by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Senator Kawu Sumaila, who alleged that lawmakers are fixing their own salaries and allowances, with each senator reportedly receiving at least N21 million monthly in running costs.
No date has yet been set for the hearing of the case.@ Vanguard.