Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the governors of eight oil producing states over their failure to account for the spending of the oil derivation refunds of N625 billion recently paid to them by the Federal Government.
The oil producing states were also asked to give details and locations of projects executed with the money.
The Federal Government recently paid N625.43 billion oil derivation refunds to the governors of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Ondo, Imo and Cross River states.
The payments covered 13 per cent oil derivation, subsidy, and SURE-P refunds with the refunds date from 1999 to 2021.
The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms. Valentina Adegoke.
In the suit filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to direct and compel the governors to disclose and widely publish the details of spending of the oil derivation refunds, subsidy, and SURE-P refunds.
The organisation also asked the court to “compel President Muhammadu Buhari to direct anti-corruption agencies to thoroughly investigate the spending of the public funds collected by the governors, and where appropriate, ensure the prosecution of suspected perpetrators of corruption, and the recovery of proceeds of corruption.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
