The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) initiated legal action against the governors of the 36 states and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for their failure to disclose and publish the terms of the ₦5.9 trillion and $4.6 billion loans secured by their states and the FCT, respectively.
The lawsuit, registered as FHC/ABJ/CS/592/2024, was filed on Friday by SERAP’s lawyers – Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Valentina Adegoke, at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The lawsuit follows SERAP’s earlier demand, which was communicated to the 37 respondents in a statement released by the organization’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, on March 31, 2024.
According to the statement, shared with PUNCH Online on Sunday, the court was requested to “direct and compel the governors and Mr. Wike to account for ₦5.9trn and $4.6bn loans obtained by their states and the FCT and to publish copies of the loan agreements, location of projects executed with the loans.”
Recall that on May 29, 2023, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, lamented the substantial debt left by his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, stating that the state is now facing a shortage of funds, insufficient to cover salaries.
He disclosed that his administration inherited a total of $587 million, ₦85 billion, and 115 contract liabilities from the former governor.
