The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
has sued the Minister of Power, Works and Housing Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN over
failure to disclose specific names and details of contractors and companies
that allegedly collected money for electricity projects but failed to execute
any projects, starting from the return of democracy in 1999 to 2018.
In the suit, which was filed last week at the Federal High
Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, SERAP is seeking an order for leave to apply for judicial
review and an order of mandamus compelling Mr Fashola to provide specific
details on the names and whereabouts of the contractors who collected public
funds meant for electricity projects but disappeared with the money without
executing any projects.
The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information request
dated 4 January, 2019 giving Mr Fashola 14 days to publish “the names of all
contractors and companies that have been engaged in the power sector since the
return of democracy in 1999 to date, details of specific projects and the
amounts that have been paid to the contractors and companies, details on the
level of implementation of electricity projects and their specific locations
across the country.”
The organization said: “publishing the names will make it
hard for contractors and companies to get away with complicity in grand
corruption. The citizens have the right to see that the Freedom of Information
Act is enforced where there is an infraction of the right to information or a
threat of its being violated, in matters of public interests.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its counsel, Adelanke
Aremo read in part: “by compelling Mr Fashola to name the contractors and their
registration details, if any, Nigerians will be better able to hold them to
account for allegedly absconding with public funds meant for electricity
projects, thereby throwing the country into perpetual darkness and
socio-economic stagnation as well as denying people their human rights.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
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