PDP Rep Drags Buhari To Court Over ‘Bailout’ Funds To States

PMBA member of the House of Representatives, Igariwey Iduma Enwo, has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over the release of N700 billion grants to states to pay backlog of salaries allegedly “without following constitutional process”.
President Buhari had on July 6 approved the release of the funds for the states to be able to settle several months’ salaries they owed their workers.
But the Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker representing Afikpo North/South federal constituency of Ebonyi State on Wednesday approached the court to know whether Buhari had such powers under the 1999 Constitution to give the bailout without the approval of the National Assembly.
Listed as defendants in the case with suit number FHC/Abj/CS102215, were the President; Attorney-General of the Federation; Federal Ministry of Finance; Accountant-General of the Federation; Auditor-General of the Federation; and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
Rep. Enwo among other questions, wants the court to determine whether Buhari, could by Presidential “fiat”, direct that public money from the pool account of the federal government be disbursed to states and local governments without recourse to the National Assembly, “the authority vested with the power of appropriation in this case”.
Part of the originating summons read, “Whether having regards to the combined effect of Sections 192, 163, 164 and 168 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which prescribes the way and manner public revenue shall be distributed from the distribution pool account, the 1st Defendant (Buhari) can by itself or by way of fiat, issue lawful directives to the 3rd-6th defendants to appropriate, distribute, allocate and disburse public revenue from the distributable pool account to the federal, state and local government without the prescription of the National Assembly”.
Accordingly, he prayed the court to declare the action of the President and his co-defendants “unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, null and void”.
The plaintiff also sought an order of “perpetual injunction” restraining the defendants from giving out funds to the states and local governments without the prescription of the National Assembly.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

1 COMMENT

  1. Bird-brain congressman. So Buhari should continue to watch whilst Nigerian workers and people suffer untold hardship as a result of erstwhile PDP Federal Government and states’ grand larceny and carelessness. Members of your family, constituency and state who are workers and their relations should recall you for failing to realize that the law was made for man and not the other way round.