The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, demanding that federal lawmakers refund N110 billion spent on vehicle procurement and support allowances that were recently declared unlawful by the Federal High Court.<\/p>\n
In a letter dated June 20, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director\u00a0Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization urged the National Assembly leadership to ensure that all funds, allowances, and benefits derived from the controversial schemes are returned to the public treasury. SERAP warned that it would initiate further legal action if the demand is not met within seven days.<\/p>\n
The demand follows a landmark judgment delivered by Justice\u00a0Yellim Bogoro\u00a0of the Federal High Court in Lagos in Suit No. FHC\/L\/CS\/1606\/2023. The court ruled that the National Assembly’s expenditure of N40 billion on 465 vehicles for lawmakers and N70 billion in support allowances for newly elected legislators violated procurement laws, constitutional obligations, and principles of accountability.<\/p>\n
Court Findings<\/p>\n
According to the judgment, the National Assembly failed to demonstrate compliance with procurement procedures, competitive bidding requirements, and value-for-money assessments. Justice Bogoro described the expenditure as “arbitrary” and “disproportionate,” adding that lawmakers who approved the spending were also its direct beneficiaries, creating a clear conflict of interest.<\/p>\n
The court further held that the allocation of N110 billion for lawmakers’ benefits amid widespread economic hardship reflected a failure to prioritize the national interest. Justice Bogoro stated that legislative autonomy could not be used as a shield for unlawful conduct and emphasized that public office must not be used for personal enrichment.<\/p>\n
New Details Emerging from the Judgment<\/p>\n
Recent reports based on the certified true copy of the judgment reveal additional findings not widely highlighted when the ruling was first delivered.<\/p>\n
The court noted that the vehicle procurement involved plans to acquire approximately 465 bulletproof SUVs at an estimated average cost of about N305 million per vehicle. The judge found that the expenditure undermined the fiduciary duty public officials owe to Nigerians and was inconsistent with lawmakers’ constitutional oath of office.<\/p>\n
Justice Bogoro also reaffirmed the right of public-interest organizations such as SERAP to challenge government spending decisions in court, rejecting objections that SERAP lacked the legal standing to bring the suit. The court further ruled that the matter remained valid for judicial review even though the funds had already been spent.<\/p>\n
SERAP Pushes for Wider Reforms<\/p>\n
Beyond seeking refunds, SERAP is calling on the National Assembly to establish stronger compliance mechanisms for future spending, conduct public hearings on its budget during each appropriation cycle, and publish detailed budgetary and expenditure information to improve transparency and public participation.<\/p>\n
The organization argues that allowing lawmakers to retain benefits obtained through spending already declared unlawful would undermine public confidence in democratic institutions and weaken efforts to combat corruption and abuse of power.<\/p>\n
Reactions<\/p>\n
Human rights lawyer\u00a0Femi Falana\u00a0has welcomed the judgment, describing it as a reaffirmation that public funds must be used in the public interest. He also urged the National Assembly to comply with the court’s decision and called on the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to exercise its constitutional role regarding lawmakers’ remuneration and allowances.<\/p>\n
As of Monday afternoon, neither the office of Senate President Akpabio nor Speaker Abbas had publicly announced plans to seek a refund from lawmakers or appeal the judgment. Based on SERAP’s ultimatum, the next major development is expected before the end of June unless the National Assembly responds or legal proceedings are initiated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, demanding that federal lawmakers refund N110 billion spent on vehicle procurement and support allowances that were recently declared unlawful by the Federal High Court. In a letter dated June […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":98404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[22,6311,8451,351,8450],"class_list":["post-99389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-akpabio","tag-allowances","tag-n110b","tag-serap","tag-tajudeen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99389"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99390,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99389\/revisions\/99390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}