Missing N30trn: SERAP Gives Ultimatum To Okonjo-Iweala | Prof. Chukwuma Soludo

As the war of words between the minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,Prof. Chukwuma Soludo continue to rage, a civil society group has threatened to take the minister to court if she failed to provide information about the alleged missing N30trillion.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) in a Freedom of Information Act request to Okonjo-Iweala threatened to take all appropriate legal actions under the FOI Act to compel her to comply with the request if “the information is not provided within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.”

According to SERAP, the request followed the disclosure by Soludo that over N30trillion had been missing, or stolen, or unaccounted for, or simply mismanaged under the minister’s watch.

In the letter of request dated February 2, 2015 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation, said that, “As trustee of public funds, SERAP contends that your ministry has a legal duty to render account on the missing N30trillion to the beneficiaries (Nigerians) of the trust, if and when called upon to do so.”

The organization requested the minister to “provide detailed information on the spending of missing N30 trillion that presumably represents income or return accruing to or derived by the government of the Federation from any source, including: a) any receipt, however described, arising from the operation of any law.