The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has initiated legal action against President Bola Tinubu’s administration for not disclosing the spending details of loans taken by previous administrations.
These loans were obtained during the tenures of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari.
The lawsuit targets Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, along with the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Filed under suit number FHC/L/CS/353/2024, the case was submitted to the Federal High Court in Lagos last Friday.
In this suit, SERAP is requesting the court to“direct and compel the Tinubu government to publish the loan agreements obtained by the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.”
SERAP is also praying the court to “direct and compel the Tinubu government to publish the spending details of any such loans, including the interests and other payments so far made on the loans.”
SERAP, in the suit argued that, “No one should be able to pull curtains of secrecy around decisions on the spending of public funds which can be revealed without injury to the public interest. Democracy requires accountability and accountability requires transparency.”
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It also argued that “The Tinubu government should make it possible for citizens to have access to the agreements and spending details to judge whether their government is working for them or not.”
According to SERAP, “The information may help to explain why, despite several billions of dollars in loans obtained by successive governments, millions of Nigerians continue to face extreme poverty and lack access to basic public goods and services.”
It asserted that Nigerians’ right to democratic governance enables them to significantly influence government policies and decisions, as well as to evaluate progress and hold officials accountable.
It emphasized that government accountability to the public is a fundamental aspect of democratic governance, which Nigeria aims to attain.
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part: “Publishing the loan agreements would improve public accountability in ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs.”
SERAP added that Nigerians are entitled to information about what their government is doing in their name, stressing that it is part of their right to information.
“Publishing the agreements and spending details would allow the public to see how and on what these governments spent the loans and foster transparency and accountability.
“Publishing the loan agreements signed by the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, and widely publishing the agreements would allow Nigerians to scrutinise it and to demand accountability for the spending of the loans,” it said
