The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged the nine oil-producing states in Nigeria to “provide and widely publish details of spending of the oil derivation refunds of N625bn recently paid to them by the Federal Government, including details and locations of projects executed with the money.”
The Federal Government recently paid N625.43 billion oil derivation refunds to the governors of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Ondo, Imo and Cross River states. The payments covered 13 per cent oil derivation, subsidy and SURE-P refunds. The refunds date from 1999 to 2021.
In the open letter dated December 19, 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said, “It is in the public interest to publish the details of spending of the refunds. Nigerians have the right to know how their states are spending the refunds. It is part of their legally enforceable human rights.”
