SERAP drags Saraki, Dogara to court over NASS excessive spending

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued Senate President Bukola Sakari and House speaker Dogara Yakubu “over failure to give account of the spending of N500 billion as running cost between 2006 and 2016, and the monthly income and allowances of each Senator and member.”



The suits filed last Friday at the Federal High Court Ikoyi followed two Freedom of Information requests dated 25 November 2016 to both Dr Saraki and Mr Dogara asking them to “urgently provide information about alleged spending of N500 billion as running cost between 2006 and 2016, and the monthly income and allowances of each Senator and member.”

The originating summons with suit numbers FHC/L/CS/1711/16 and FHC/L/CS/1710/16 respectively were brought pursuant to section 4(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni.

SERAP’s suits against Saraki and Dogara followed disclosure by Abdulmumin Jibrin that Nigerian Senators and House of Representatives members have pocketed N500 billion as ‘running cost’ out of the N1 trillion provided for in the National Assembly budgets between 2006 and 2016, and by former president Olusegun Obasanjo that each Senator goes home with nothing less than N15m monthly while each member receives nothing less than N10m monthly.