The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a non-governmental organisation, demands transparency on the part of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadia Umar-Farouk over the planned disbursement of N729bn to 24.3 million poor Nigerians.
It said that the minister should give details of the beneficiaries of the fund and the criteria through which they were selected.
The group noted that the publishing of these details would help promote transparency and accountability, nullifying any risk of diversion of funds meant for the public.
SERAP warned that legal action would be taken if there is no response from the minister, as it would invoke the Freedom of Information Act to “compel” the minister to comply with its request.
The NGO’s Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare said, “Publishing the details of beneficiaries and selection criteria, as well as the payment plan for six months, would promote transparency and accountability, and remove the risks of mismanagement and diversion of public funds.
“Transparency and accountability in the programme would improve public trust, and allow Nigerians to track and monitor its implementation, and to assess if the programme is justified, as well as to hold authorities to account in cases of diversion, mismanagement and corruption.
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“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request.
“SERAP notes that the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended], UN Convention against Corruption, and African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party require the government to set the highest standards of transparency, accountability and probity in programmes that it oversees.
“The government has a responsibility to ensure that these requirements and other anti-corruption controls are fully implemented and monitored and that the payments are justified in light of the huge budget deficit and borrowing, and whether there are better ways to spend N729bn to support poor Nigerians.”
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