The Federal High Court in Lagos has directed Sadiya Umar-Farouq, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, to provide a detailed account of the N729 billion disbursed to 24.3 million vulnerable Nigerians over a six-month period.

The court also mandates her to disclose the list of beneficiaries, the number of states involved, and the payment breakdown by state.

The judgment was delivered in June by Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/L/CS/853/2021, brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project.

The certified true copy of the judgment was obtained last Friday by the organisation.

In his judgment, Justice Dipeolu held that “The former minister is compelled by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to give information to any person, including SERAP. I therefore grant an order of mandamus directing and compelling the minister to provide the spending details of N729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians in 2021.”

Justice Dipeolu ordered the minister to “provide SERAP with details of how the beneficiaries have been selected and the mechanisms for the payments to the beneficiaries.”

The judge also ordered the minister to “explain the rationale for paying N5,000 to 24.3 million poor Nigerians, which translates to five per cent of Nigeria’s budget of N13.6 trillion for 2021.”

She ruled that “the minister did not give any reason for the refusal to disclose the details sought by SERAP. SERAP has reeled out the relevant sections of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 that the minister contravene and has, in line with sections 20 and 25(1) of the Act, prayed this Court for an order of mandamus to direct and compel the minister to provide the information sought.”

Justice Dipeolu dismissed the objections raised by the minister’s counsel and upheld SERAP’s arguments.

Consequently, the court entered judgment in favour of SERAP against the minister.

Reacting to the judgment, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the ruling is a victory for transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds.

He said, “This ground-breaking judgment is a victory for transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds.

“Justice Dipeolu’s judgment shows the urgent need for the Tinubu government to genuinely address the systemic allegations of corruption in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development and other ministries, departments and agencies, as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation.

“We commend Justice Dipeolu for her courage and wisdom and urge President Bola Tinubu to immediately obey the court orders.”

In the letter dated July 6, 2024, sent to President Bola Tinubu on the judgment, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation asked him to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to immediately compile with the ruling.

The organisation also asked the President to order the release of the spending details of the N729 billion as ordered by the court.

It reads: “We urge you to demonstrate your expressed commitment to the rule of law by immediately obeying and respecting the judgment of the court.

“We urge you to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to immediately compile and release the spending details of the N729 billion as ordered by the court.

“The immediate enforcement and implementation of the judgment by your government will be a victory for the rule of law, transparency, and accountability in the governance processes and management of public resources, including the N729 billion.”

Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bala Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure as the chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government comes to an end today (Sunday).

The 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority is currently underway at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where President Tinubu is set to hand over the leadership reins to his successor.

He was unanimously elected as chairman in July 2023 during the 63rd Ordinary Session in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

During his tenure, Tinubu has faced numerous challenges, including military coups in several member states.

Initially, he took a firm stance against unconstitutional power seizures in Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea, imposing sanctions on these countries.

However, the sanctions were later lifted as the sub-regional body opted for a more peaceful approach to resolve the issues.

The president played a critical role in ensuring the success of the 2024 Senegalese election by facilitating dialogue between stakeholders.

This was as he demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting democracy in the sub-region during the year.

The Lagos State Government on Friday took another gigantic to managing the vast deposit of electronic waste in the state with the signing of a  Letter of Intent with a company from the Netherlands for the establishment of a smelter plant in Lagos.

Speaking during the signing programme at Alausa, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources,  Tokunbo Wahab who signed on behalf of the State said it is about the economy of Lagos and improving it.

He added that when the smelter plant comes on stream, it would create new jobs and also create a new economy through conversion of e-waste into valuable products.

Wahab stated that the presence of the Consul General of the Netherlands affirms a vote of confidence on the company “Close the Loop BV” about its capabilities.

He described  Electronic waste as a  major waste that people usually don’t talk  about but with the latest step taken by Lagos, it is far ahead of some states and countries in the Sub region in terms of taking care of electronic waste and converting them to wealth.

He explained that many people do not have the proper awareness on how to dispose either the electronic products or the waste from e-products so the risk  pollution becomes more manifest.

He added that the improper management of e-waste can affect the environment badly saying in most cases the e-waste ended up on the landfills, incinerated and eventually exported to the developing countries for recycling.

“Before now, what usually happens to our electronic waste? Government put them together, ship them out, reconvert them to value, bring them in to sell to the people again” he said.

He stated that Lagos generates 13 thousand tons of waste daily, one third goes to waste to wealth, another one third to electronic waste and last part goes to energy.

According to him, residents must take ownership of the infrastructure in their enviroment. “Don’t   dispose waste into the drainage system. You are the ones paying the tax, so the government provide infrastructure from the taxes you pay. As a good citizens you must always say something when the arises”.

The Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Rotimi Akodu while speaking said the Lagos team is ready to collaborate and see that things are sorted the way it should be adding that “Close the Loop BV” officials seemed poised for the job at hand.

“We have a lot of waste in place that we don’t know what to do with them, but now is the time. We just worked on the conversion of waste to wealth. We just signed the conversion of waste to energy and now we are taking care of our electronic waste. Am sure that no state imagined that it is possible. It is something we welcome and ready to partner you” he said.

Netherlands Consul General in Nigeria Mr. Michel Deleen noted that it has been observed that Lagos Government is very pro – active in all its endeavours citing the example of the heavy rainfall experienced few days ago and the flash flood that accompanied it disappeared after a few hours of the rains stopping.

“The truth is most Developed countries with infrastructure in place still experience flash flood when it rains incessantly “he said

He emphasized that the Netherlands government is set to collaborate with Lagos  to turn waste into value and extract valuable wastes as well adding that this is the begining of that stage and signing of the LOI  is very impotant because it is a global issue.

Also speaking,  the President Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, Ingrid Thijssen expressed delight at the partnership, saying it will benefit both parties tremendously. #GreaterLagos