SERAP Threatens To Take PDP, APC To Court over Spending On 2015 Elections

SERAP Threatens To Take PDP, APC To Court over Spending On 2015 Elections

 

A Lagos based civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Projects (SERAP), on Tuesday threatened to within 14 days, drag the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to court over their spending towards the 2015 general elections.

SERAP stated that if the information about the the sources and spending on the electoral campaigns and other operations linked to the February 2015 general elections is not make public before  the end of the ultimatum, it shall take appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to get the information.

The group in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni stressed that  Nigerians have the right to know about spending by their political parties especially the major parties the PDP  and APC because they have strong possibility to assume government in the future. 

The statement, while making reference to two seperate letters datedNovember 18, 2014 and addressed to the National Chairman of PDP, Adamu Muazu and APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, maintained that, "Serious concerns about the risks of corruption during electoral campaigns for the February 2015 general elections, especially the role of money in politics and the persistent failure generally to comply with national and international law on political party finance.

The organisation also want the political parties to make available informaions on the party’s entire budget (incomes and expenditures) and its sources (including those derived from federal, state and other institutions) for the campaigns and other operations related to the February 2015 general elections.

SERAP equally want information on the total amounts that have been spent and the anticipated spending and the sources of any such spending related to the February 2015 general elections.

It also want details about total contributions received by the presidential candidate and candidates for the governorship elections and the sources of any such contributions.

According to SERAP, "By virtue of Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011, it is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information being requested. 

"Under the FOI Act, your party is under a binding legal obligation to provide the applicant with the information requested for, except as otherwise provided by the Act, within 7 days after the application is received.

“By Sections 2(3)(d)(V) & (4) of the FOI Act, there is a binding legal duty to ensure that documents containing the necessary information are widely disseminated and made readily available to members of the public through various means. 

"The information being requested does not come within the purview of the types of information exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the FOI Act.”

"Citizens should be able to examine financial transactions of parties and be certain that politicians are working for their voters, not their benefactors.

"The parties cannot take the position that the FOI Act does not apply to them because to do so will seriously undermine citizens’ trust in their political parties and lack of trust will inevitably destroy confidence in the system and decrease citizens’ interest and participation in democratic processes.

“We believe that without free and fair elections there can be no democracy. However, elections are only one part of the democratic process, and a fair and effective electoral system must be founded in an adequate democratic infrastructure and responsibility of political leaders.

“Therefore, releasing the information will help to address the perception among the citizens that the major political parties in the countries are less transparent and accountable," SERAP stated.