Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sent Freedom of Information requests to the President, Muhammadu Buhari , and 36 state governors, asking them to disclose details of proposed ‘security votes’ spending in their 2021 appropriation bills.
SERAP said this would ensure the security and welfare of Nigerians, and prevent the misuse and embezzlement of public funds in the name of security votes
This was contained in an FoI request dated December 26, 2020, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent.
SERAP said, “In the wake of the abduction of over 300 students from the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, and ongoing security challenges in several parts of the country, the time has come to demonstrate transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds meant to secure people’s lives and property.
“Disclosing details of spending as security votes for 2021 would serve to engage the Nigerian people in an honest conversation about the security challenges confronting the country, and what the federal and state governments are doing to respond to them. This is a legitimate public interest matter.
“While SERAP understands that authorities may keep certain matters of operational secrets from the people in the name of national security, there is no constitutional or legal basis to hide basic information on public spending from the people.”
SERAP expressed “concerns that the intense secrecy and lack of meaningful oversight of the government’s spending of security votes have for many years contributed to mismanagement and large-scale corruption in the sector, as well as limited the ability of the people to hold high-ranking public officials to account for their constitutional responsibility to ensure the security and welfare of the people.”
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