Court Orders Okowa To Account For Over N20 Billion Delta UBEC And Allocation Fund
A federal high court sitting in Lagos has ordered Okowa , the delta state government to fully disclose the spending details of over n200 billion public funds collected by the Okowa administration from the universal basic education commission fund and from the federation accounts.”
Justice Daniel Osiagor, in his judgment, last Thursday ordered governor sheriff Oborevwori to disclose details of budgetary allocations and actual spending by the Okowa government between 2015 and 2019.
The judge delivered the judgment in a freedom of information suit filed by the socio-economic rights and accountability project.
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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.
Justice Osiagor ordered the delta state government to disclose how the Okowa government spent over N7.28 billion received from UBEC between 2015 and 2017, and N213 billion received from the federation accounts in 2018, at an average of N17.8 billion monthly.
AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS is hereby made directing and compelling the Delta State Universal Basic Education Board to provide SERAP with the following information:
[a] Details of disbursement and administration of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds disbursed through the Delta State Universal Basic Education Board to the Delta State Government and actual spending of the State Government on primary school education monitored by the Board between 2015 and 2019, including specific projects carried out to improve access to free and quality primary education in Delta State, the locations of such projects and the primary schools that have benefited from the projects.
[b] Specific details of the steps the Board is taking to ensure improvement of the overall welfare of children in primary schools across Delta State.
[c] Details of Delta State’s fee-free programme, if any, across primary schools in the state and information on indirect costs, including uniforms, exercise books, and transport costs to students and their parents.
[d] Details of specific projects by the Board to ensure improvement of access to education for children with disabilities.
