Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 20 concerned Nigerians have taken legal action against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, accusing them of unilaterally increasing the allocation for lawmakers by N147 billion.
Vanguard reported the increment, from N197 billion to N344 billion, is purportedly the highest since the return of democracy in 1999.
The lawsuit, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, also includes SERAP, representing the plaintiffs, seeking judicial intervention to determine the legality of lawmakers unilaterally raising their budget without re-presentation by the Executive.
“For a declaration that the National Assembly, in the exercise of its powers over appropriation/money bills, cannot unilaterally increase its own budget without the re-presentation of the budget by the President in line with section 81 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended].
“For a declaration that the action of the National Assembly, unilaterally increasing its own budget from N197 billion to N344 billion, without the re-presentation of the budget by the President is a breach of the democratic principles of separation of powers and checks and balances,”
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