The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has given the Federal Government seven-day ultimatum to account for Ecological Fund amounting to trillions of Naira spent on flood control and relief.
SERAP in a statement made available on Sunday wants President Muhammadu Buhari to “direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate the spending of Ecological Fund by federal, state and local governments from 2001 to date.”
The accountability advocacy group is demanding that all missing funds be fully recovered and that “Suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement should face prosecution as appropriate”.
SERAP’s letter followed reports that the ravaging flooding in some parts of the country has resulted in the loss of over 600 lives, displacement of more than a million persons, and destruction of properties worth billions of Naira.
The most affected states include Anambra, Delta, Kogi, Rivers, Benue, Yobe, Cross River and Bayelsa.
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In the open letter dated October 22, 2022 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “trillions of ecological funds have allegedly gone down the drain. The resulting human costs directly threaten human rights – rights to life and to a place to live – rights that your government has an obligation to protect.”
SERAP said, “Irrespective of the cause of a threat to human rights, your government still has positive obligations to use all the means within its disposal to uphold the human rights of those affected.”
SERAP also said, “Although ecological funds are shared across the three tiers of government, and emergency management agencies, the funds are managed and supervised by the Federal Government.”
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
