Court orders Okowa to clarify how N200bn UBEC funds was spent.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the disclosure of the spending details of over N200bn public funds collected by the administration of the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa from the Universal Basic Education Commission, (UBEC).

It also ordered the spending disclosure of allocations from the Federation Accounts.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Daniel Osiagor directed the Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to disclose details of budgetary allocations and actual spending by the Okowa government between 2015 and 2019 including specific projects carried out to improve primary education in Delta State, and the locations of such projects.

The judgement followed a suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Justice Osiagor held that, SERAP has the legal right to inquire and know the way public institutions manage public funds and therefore urged every citizen to make it a point of duty to demand transparency and accountability in governance.

The Judge ordered the Delta State government to state how the Okowa government spent over N7.28 billion received from UBEC between 2015 and 2017, and N213 billion received from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in 2018.

SERAP’s suit followed the case of seven year-old Success Adegor, who was sent home because her parents could not pay the illegal school fee/levy of N900, and the poor-quality of her Okotie-Eboh Primary School 1.

Justice Osiagor ordered the government to state details of the primary schools that have benefited from the projects carried out and information on indirect costs, including uniforms, exercise books, and transport costs to students and their parents.