The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ruled that the National Assembly’s N110 billion spending on sport utility vehicles and support allowances for lawmakers was unlawful. This voids the N40 billion spent on 465 vehicles and the N70 billion paid as support allowances to members elected in 2023.
In the ruling, Justice Yellim Bogoro held that the disbursements breached procurement laws and public trust, stating that, looking at the magnitude of the expenditure coupled with the absence of demonstrable due process, leads to the conclusion that the procurement is arbitrary, disproportionate, and inconsistent with statutory procurement standards.
The suit was filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the National Assembly. The court also ordered Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to ensure that all future procurements or expenditure of public funds by the National Assembly comply strictly with due process requirements and are guided by the principles of transparency, accountability, and value for money.
The judge noted that the beneficiaries of the expenditure are the very officials approving it, and the expenditure confers direct pecuniary and material benefits, which constitute a case of self-dealing and conflict of interest. He stated that he has taken judicial notice of the economic realities in Nigeria and the widespread financial hardship affecting Nigerian citizens, and in this context, the allocation of N110 billion for the benefit of lawmakers demonstrates a failure to prioritise national interest.
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