A pro-democracy organization, Advocates of Social Justice for All (ASJA), has cautioned civil society groups and critics of the National Assembly against actions it says could undermine the integrity and independence of Nigeria’s legislature following the controversy surrounding the reported N110 billion spent on lawmakers’ official vehicles and support allowances.
The intervention comes in the wake of a judgment by a Federal High Court in Lagos, which declared unlawful the expenditure of N110 billion appropriated for the procurement of official vehicles and support allowances for members of the 10th National Assembly.
Justice Yellim Bogoro had ruled that the N40 billion used to procure 360 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for members of the House of Representatives and 109 SUVs for senators, as well as the N70 billion allocated as support allowances for newly inaugurated lawmakers, failed to comply with standard procurement laws.
The court subsequently directed the leadership of the National Assembly, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, to ensure that future procurements
