N21m jumbo pay: SERAP drags Akpabio, Abbas to court over N’Assembly’s ‘unlawful’ allowances

In a landmark lawsuit, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to court over their failure to end the “unlawful” practice of fixing the National Assembly’s allowances and running costs.

The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks to compel Akpabio and Abbas to disclose the exact amount of the monthly running costs paid to lawmakers and the spending details of any such running costs. SERAP argued that the provisions of paragraph N, section 32(d) of the Third Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] clearly make it unlawful for the National Assembly to fix its salaries, allowances, and running costs.

According to SERAP, “The country’s international legal obligations, especially under the UN Convention against Corruption, impose a legal commitment on public officials, including lawmakers, to discharge a public duty truthfully and faithfully, The convention, specifically in paragraph 1 of article 8, requires members to promote integrity, honesty, and responsibility in the management of public resources.”

The suit added, “Constitutional oath of office requires public officials, including lawmakers, to abstain from all improper acts, such as fixing their own salaries, allowances, and running costs, that are inconsistent with the public trust. It is a travesty and a fundamental breach of their fiduciary duties for members of the National Assembly to fix their own salaries, allowances, and running costs.”

SERAP also argued that the alleged practice of paying running costs into the personal accounts of lawmakers is a fundamental breach of Rule 713 of the Federal Government Financial Regulations, which provides that “personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private bank account.”