Oladipo Sanusi
The party may soon be over for political office holders receiving security votes and constituency allowances, if a Lagos lawyer has his way at a Federal High Court.
Adedokun Makinde has approached a Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking an order to stop payment of security vote and Constituency projects’ allowance to the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other 77 political office holders in Nigeria.
The lawyer, in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/220/17, joined the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and Honourable Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Governors of the nation’s 36 states, and the Speakers of the 36 states Houses of Assembly as other respondents to the suit.
Apart from seeking an order stopping the payment of security vote and constituency projects allowances to all political office holders, the lawyer also wants the court to declare payment and or drawing of funds or monies for security vote by the President, Vice President, Governor or Deputy Governor, Minister of FCT, and all political office holders from Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation or state as unconstitutional, illegal null and void.
The lawyer is also asking for a declaration that payment of funds or any monies for constituency project to the legislators either at the Federal or state levels is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
The plaintiff in his affidavit in support of the motion, deposed to by himself, averred that the President, Vice President, governors, and deputy governors belong to the class or category of Executive Political class; and that these executive political office holders cannot receive any remuneration above that approved or determined by the fifth defendant – RMAFC.
The plaintiff averred that there is no provision for payment of Security Vote to the President, Vice-President, Governor or Deputy-Governor by the RMAFC in the Constitution as part of remuneration. He added that all monies received as Security Vote are not appropriate in either the Federal Appropriation Act, or Appropriation Law of the states.
The lawyer also stated that the quantum of monies charged in the Consolidated Revenue Fund which is unknown constitute a great drain on the revenue of this Federation and thereby depletes monies available for developmental purposes. He added that the withdrawal and payment of security vote to the Executives elected office holders from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation is a violation of constitutional provision.
He averred further that the duty of the legislators both at the Federal and state levels, is to make law not to execute projects, adding that the National and state lawmakers appropriate and collect monies called Constituency Project Fund, which is charged on the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and that the said constituency project fund runs into several billions of Naira, which are not being remuneration determined by the Revenue Mobilization Fund and Fiscal Commission, cannot and should not be paid or collected by the legislators.
He said that the legislators had no powers to collect monies for the purpose of executing constituency projects not being members of the Executives, and “that payment of constituency project fund to the legislators is wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional”.
The deponent added that payment and or withdrawal of security vote by the President, Vice-President, Governor, deputy governors, Minister of Consolidated Revenue Fund, elected executive public officers, is a violation of provision of the Constitution, illegal and such should be terminated forthwith.
However, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, has fixed April 26, 2017, for the hearing of the suit.
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