A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Mr Abdulganeey Imran, has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to barred the Federal Government from taking $800m or any other sum at all for the purpose of financing the National Social Safety Network Programme.
The scheme aims to distribute the $800m loan to 10.2 million poor Nigerians, who will get N5,000 per month to cushion the economic effect of the planned subsidy removal.
But the lawyer, in suit amrked FHC/L/C5/908/23, is praying the court to restrain the President from sharing, distributing, tampering with, or dealing with any such loan of $800m granted to the respondents in any manner whatsoever.
He contended that “it is not economically viable for the respondents to continue to obtain and accumulate loans that were purely meant for consumption rather than for capital projects when a whopping sum of N6.31tn was budgeted for debt services in the 2023 appropriation bill alone.
“The main purpose of requesting an additional loan, as stated by the 1st respondent in his letter to the third respondent, was not captured in the 2023 Appropriation Bill as passed by the National Assembly.”
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had sought approval from the National Assembly for a fresh $800m loan to finance NSSNP.
Also joined as respondents in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Justice, and the Senate President.
The applicant premised his request on the grounds that the tenure of the present administration of Buhari seeking to obtain ‘this whopping sum of money’ comes to an end on May 29.
The applicant stated that there was no state of emergency or circumstance of extreme urgency that necessitates and justifies the hurry in processing and obtaining the $800m, and there was nothing in the letter of request sent by the President to the Senate President that suggested any urgency in the purpose for which the purported loan was being sought.
The suit has been assigned to Justice Peter Lifu, but no date has been fixed for the hearing.
