Lawyer threatens to sue Senate over ‘Holiday enjoyment allowance’:

An Abuja-based lawyer and human rights Activist, Maduabuchi Idam, has given the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio a 7-day ultimatum to reveal the details of the money sent to senators as ‘holiday enjoyment allowance’, or face legal action in court.

The lawyer in a statement, said his action is based on the fact that Nigerians are suffering and plagued with scarce resources, with political office holders living in luxury off the nation’s treasury.

Idam also threatened to drag Akpabio and the Senate before a Federal High Court if he fails to disclose the details of the allowances within the next seven days.

Read full statement below:

“I, Maduabuchi O. Idam, have written to the Senate President, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), 2011 demanding, among other things, the details of the information regarding the amount and the source of the monies revealed by the Senate President to have been sent to serving Senators for enjoyment during their holiday.

“Following the relevant provisions of the FOI, the Senate President is obligated to furnish me with the requested information within seven (7) days.

“Failure to do so, I shall further explore my right as guaranteed under the Act to approach the Federal High Court in order to compel the release of the information.

“My action was necessitated by the fact that, as a people, Nigerians are currently plagued by hardship and scarce resources, thereby making it unreasonable for our leaders to embark on an enjoyable holiday at the taxpayers’ expense”.

Beesreign Media had reported on August 11, that the Senate disbursed 2 million naira to each Senate for “holiday allowance”.