Don’t approve ‘wasteful’ budget of Nat’l Assembly, SERAP urges Osinbajo

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has been asked by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to reject the proposed “wasteful spending” of the National Assembly.

In an open letter to Osinbajo, SERAP requested that he use his good offices and leadership position “to put pressure on the leadership of the National Assembly to cut the proposed spending to be made on expensive official vehicles, legislative aides, travels and transportation, souvenirs, and photocopiers.”

The organisation further asked Acting President Osinbajo to “Assent to the budget only if it truly reflects national development priorities, and not serve as a tool to satisfy the lifestyle of our lawmakers.”

SERAP told him that “to allow public funds to be spent as proposed by the National Assembly would disproportionately affect the socially and economically vulnerable and push them deeper into poverty and deprivation.”

This was contained in the letter to Osinbajo and copied to Professor Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, dated May 15, 2017 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni.

Part of it read, “In a country where many of our general hospitals cannot provide emergency treatment, and at a time public funds are needed to improve these facilities, it is retrogressive to spend these funds to provide exotic cars for our lawmakers or fund needless travels. Such funds ought to be meaningfully spent to provide clean water, build classrooms, provide materials, train teachers and pay outstanding workers’ salaries.

“The more public funds that are spent to buy expensive vehicles for our lawmakers rather than servicing the new vehicles bought last year the less resources that will be available to make sure that Nigerians enjoy the right to an adequate standard of living and the rights to health, housing, food and education.

“When read together, the obligations under the Covenant to take steps to achieve economic and social rights progressively according to the country’s national resources implicitly forbid spending on such apparently wasteful projects. We are concerned that of the N125 billion proposed by the National Assembly in the 2017 budget, N6.4billion is to purchase official vehicles; N1.6billion to insure the vehicles; N777million to buy photocopiers; N55.623million to buy souvenirs; N807million to fuel generators; N11billion for travels and transportation; N9billion to pay legislative aides, and N750million for medical supplies.”

“SERAP believes that the presidency now has the chance to show that the 2017 budget would not prioritise wasteful spending by the National Assembly over and above urgent national development priorities, and the need to improve Nigerians’ access to basic necessities such as uninterrupted electricity supply, quality education, affordable healthcare, clean water, good roads, as well as pay outstanding workers’ salaries across the country.

“SERAP urges you and the presidency to require the National Assembly to justify the wave of fresh spending on several of the items purchased last year, and many of which will presumably remain in good condition.”

Gsent Talks.....Taking You Further