Demand accountability as govt revenue rises, Falana tells Nigerians

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged Nigerians to demand accountability from the Federal, state and local governments over the increase in revenue accruing to the three tiers of government.

Falana said the rise in government revenue had yet to translate into corresponding improvements in the living conditions of Nigerians, urging citizens to question how the additional funds were being spent.

The activist spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he questioned what governments were doing with the extra revenue available to them.

Falana cited the condition of a road leading to Afe Babalola University in Ekiti State, questioning why residents were asking the Federal Government to fix the road when the local government in the area had received substantial funds.

“I was just reading some news about a particular road in Ekiti State, the road that leads to Afe Babalola University. And everybody there is asking the Abuja people to come and fix the road, whereas between January and May this year, that local government has taken about N5.4 billion,” he said.

He questioned why part of the allocation could not be used to fix the road, arguing that the project should not cost more than N500m.

“So you can’t fix a road with less than N500 million naira? And in any case, state governments were fixing roads, and they would then go to Abuja to ask for a refund,” Falana said.

The lawyer said Nigerians should begin to hold each tier of government accountable for its responsibilities instead of always looking to the Federal Government to address problems within the jurisdiction of state and local governments.

“We must begin to ask questions of the local government, the state government, and the Federal Government,” he said.

Falana also questioned the benefits of the removal of fuel subsidy, saying Nigerians should not be continually asked to wait for the gains of economic reforms while many citizens struggle with worsening living conditions.

“If you say we are making more money, we don’t want to go back to the era of the fuel subsidy scam. Where are the benefits? It’s a fallacy being told to wait and wait and wait. People are dying,” he said.

He further raised concerns about the government’s handling of funds previously earmarked for fuel importation, saying the money ought to have been saved but was instead largely being used for debt servicing.

“Now, the money earmarked for fuel importation by the government, $10 billion per annum, ought to have been saved, but the bulk of this money goes for servicing of debt. That’s where the problem lies,” Falana said.

The activist maintained that the Federal Government, state governments and local governments were receiving more money, at least on paper, and should therefore be subjected to greater scrutiny by citizens.

“Yes, state governments are getting more money. The Federal Government is getting more money. Local governments are getting more money on paper. It is the duty of the Nigerian people now to demand accountability,” he said.

Watch the video below:

𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬

Credit: X | channelstv

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