Gom Mirian
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, over an unauthorised increase in the allocation for lawmakers.
SERAP, along with 20 concerned Nigerians, filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court, challenging the decision to raise the allocation from N197bn to N344bn.
In a statement issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, on Sunday, it was revealed that the lawsuit seeks to determine whether lawmakers have the authority to unilaterally increase their budget without the representation of the budget by the Executive.
The organisation argues that this action violates the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances.
The increase in the allocation came to light following a report last month, which indicated that lawmakers had raised their budget from N197bn, as proposed by President Bola Tinubu, to N344bn.
SERAP claims that this move will result in a total withdrawal of N514bn from the 2024 budget. They also allege that the lawmakers had previously increased their budget for 2023 from N169bn to N228bn.
SERAP is seeking a declaration from the court that the National Assembly’s action is a breach of democratic principles.
They are also requesting an injunction to prevent the National Assembly from unilaterally increasing its budget without representation from the President, by the Nigerian Constitution.
