SERAP files lawsuit against 35 state governors and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over alleged N14 trillion fuel subsidy savings mismanagement

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against 35 state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over alleged failure to account for N14 trillion realised as fuel subsidy savings.

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Filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the suit, marked FHC/L/MSC/1424/2025, also names the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation as a respondent, according to a statement by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.

SERAP alleged that following the removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023, the governors and the FCT minister received increased allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), but the funds have not translated into improved healthcare, education, or other basic services for vulnerable Nigerians.

The organisation is asking the court to compel the respondents to disclose details of the spending of these FAAC allocations and the location of any projects executed using the savings.

“The Federation Account Allocation Committee in 2024 distributed N28.78 trillion from the removal of subsidy on petrol to the three tiers of government, a 79 per cent increase from the previous year,” the suit reads.

“State governments’ allocations increased by 45.5 per cent to N5.22 trillion, with monthly distributions in 2025 reportedly exceeding N1.6 trillion. Yet millions of poor Nigerians have not benefited, and some states continue to owe salaries and pensions.”

SERAP argued that Nigerians have a constitutional right to know how public funds are spent, citing Sections 13, 15(5) and 16(2) of the 1999 Constitution, Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and relevant Supreme Court rulings upholding the Freedom of Information Act.

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No hearing date has been fixed for the suit, which SERAP described as a crucial step toward transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.