Aso Rock votes N19.17b for 14 teaching hospitals
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Aso Rock has budgeted N26 billion for meals and travels while 14 teaching hospitals get N19.17 billion, a difference of N6.83 billion that underscores the priority of Muhammadu Buhari and why doctors are trooping out of the country.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) highlighted the anomaly in its latest lawsuit against the President at the Abuja Federal High Court, which comes after several others this year alone demanding accountability from him.
SERAP argues that Buhari’s budget for local and foreign travels, meals and refreshments, sitting allowance, welfare package, and office building is bigger than the allocation to 14 teaching hospitals that care for millions of Nigerians.
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The suit, filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Adelanke Aremo, seeks to reduce the N26 billion budget via a supplementary Appropriation Bill sent to the National Assembly (NASS).
“The government would continue to borrow to fund the country’s budget until there is a substantial cut to the cost of governance. It is in the public interest to stop the government from spending so much money on these items,” SERAP said in the suit.
“Persistent borrowing is neither sustainable nor fair to the Nigerian people.
“According to reports, the proposed N26 billion on travels, meals, refreshments and the presidential wing of the State House Clinic is more than the proposed allocations for ongoing and new projects in 14 teaching hospitals combined.
“N19.17 billion is allocated to the following teaching hospitals: UNILAG Teaching Hospital – N1.69bn; ABU Teaching Hospital – N2.38bn; University College Hospital, Ibadan – N1.49bn; and UNN Teaching Hospital – N1.38bn,” among others, per reporting by Vanguard.
SERAP is also seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel … Buhari to publish spending details on the State House Medical Centre since May 29, 2015.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
Multiple lawsuits against Buhari
SERAP has sued Buhari to court several times to stop him trampling the Constitution which guarantees freedom and the rule of law, and to ask him to give account of public spending.
Among the lawsuits this year alone are:
June – SERAP sues Buhari for banning Twitter
SERAP and 176 individuals jointly filed a lawsuit against Buhari at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja over his ban on Twitter on June 4.
The plaintiffs cited “the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, criminalisation of Nigerians and other people using Twitter, and the escalating repression of human rights, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom in the country.”
August – SERAP sues Buhari over N105.66b missing in MDAs
SERAP sued Buhari to the Abuja Federal High Court for failing to probe N105.66 billion officially declared missing from 149 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
SERAP said he failed to prosecute those responsible for the fraud and recover the missing public funds to reduce the pressure of borrowing more money.
The suit came after confirmation by the Office of the federal Auditor General in its 2018 annual audited report that N105,662,350,077.46 of public funds is missing, misappropriated or unaccounted for across 149 MDAs.
August – SERAP sues Buhari over N729b voted for poor households
SERAP filed a lawsuit against Buhari at the Lagos Federal High Court to provide details of how N729 billion has reportedly been handed out to 24.3 million poor households.
SERAP asked the court to compel Buhari “to disclose details of proposed payments of N729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians, including the mechanisms and logistics for the payments, list of beneficiaries, and how they have been selected, and whether the payments will be made in cash or through Bank Verification Numbers [BVN] or other means.”
October – SERAP sues Buhari for spying on social media
SERAP urged the court to “declare illegal and unconstitutional the plan by the [Buhari] administration to track, intercept and monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages of Nigerians and other people, as it severely threatens and violates the right to the preservation of privacy.”
The suit, filed on October 15, followed the Supplementary Appropriation Act Buhari signed in July to spend N4.87 billion to monitor private phone calls and messages.
The amount is part of the N895.8 billion supplementary budget approved by the NASS.
SERAP is also seeking
- “An order of perpetual injunction restraining Buhari and any other authority, persons or group of persons from unlawfully monitoring WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians and other people.
- “A declaration that any monitoring of WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages is oppressive and draconian, as it threatens and violates Sections 37 and 39 of [the] Constitution … Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; and Articles 17 and 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.”
Joined in the suit as respondents are federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubakar Malami and Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed.