By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has reacted with outrage, shock and deep national concern over the disturbing revelation by the World Bank that more than N34.53 trillion in Nigerian public revenue was deducted and diverted through opaque \u201cfirst-line charges\u201d before reaching the Federation Account between 2023 and 2025.<\/p>\n
In a statement signed by HURIWA National Cordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko,”This shocking disclosure by a respected international financial institution confirms the long-standing fears of millions of Nigerians that a dangerous shadow fiscal structure now exists within the Nigerian state \u2014 one that permits powerful institutions and politically connected agencies to appropriate public wealth outside transparent constitutional processes and beyond effective legislative scrutiny.”<\/p>\n
HURIWA stated that the implications of this revelation are catastrophic for Nigeria\u2019s democracy, economic stability and national survival.<\/p>\n
At a time when Nigerians are enduring unprecedented economic hardship, mass hunger, collapsing purchasing power, rising unemployment, worsening insecurity, failing public hospitals, underfunded schools and crippling inflation, it is morally indefensible and economically criminal that over N34 trillion could disappear through a system deliberately designed to avoid transparency and public accountability.<\/p>\n
The World Bank clearly stated that approximately 41 per cent of federation revenue never reached the Federation Account because it was retained through \u201cfirst-line charges\u201d by government agencies operating under questionable statutory arrangements.<\/p>\n
This means that while ordinary Nigerians were being told to endure economic reforms and sacrifices, powerful government institutions were quietly operating a parallel financial empire outside meaningful public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
HURIWA notes with serious concern that agencies allegedly implicated in this scandal include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigeria Customs Service and other major revenue-generating institutions whose internally retained revenues and cost-of-collection mechanisms have now become subjects of international scrutiny.<\/p>\n
The World Bank\u2019s conclusion that these deductions weakened legislative oversight and created a pro-cyclical spending structure is a devastating indictment of Nigeria\u2019s public finance management system.<\/p>\n
More disturbing is the revelation that some agencies now receive allocations larger than the annual budgets of several Nigerian states and critical federal ministries combined.<\/p>\n
This is not merely a technical fiscal issue.<\/p>\n
It is a direct assault on constitutional democracy, fiscal accountability and the social contract between the Nigerian state and its citizens.<\/p>\n
HURIWA therefore declares that the National Assembly has failed woefully in its constitutional responsibility to protect public resources and defend the interests of Nigerians.<\/p>\n
A legislature that permits the operation of massive off-budget spending systems amounting to tens of trillions of naira cannot honestly claim ignorance.<\/p>\n
The continued silence, passivity and inaction of senators and members of the House of Representatives strongly suggest institutional compromise and political capture.<\/p>\n
Nigerians elected lawmakers to oversee the executive, not to function as ceremonial spectators while public funds disappear through bureaucratic manipulations.<\/p>\n
The association further states that if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the Nigeria Police Force and other anti-corruption institutions fail to launch immediate criminal investigations into this monumental scandal, then the Nigerian people would be justified in concluding that these agencies have become mere decorative institutions incapable of confronting elite corruption.<\/p>\n
Anti-corruption agencies that aggressively pursue petty financial crimes while remaining silent over allegations involving N34.53 trillion lose all moral authority and public credibility.<\/p>\n
HURIWA warns that Nigeria cannot survive as a functional democracy where trillions of naira are spent outside transparent appropriation systems while citizens are repeatedly subjected to taxation, subsidy removals, borrowing and austerity measures.<\/p>\n
No nation can develop under a fiscal culture driven by opacity, impunity and elite entitlement.<\/p>\n
The association therefore demands the following immediate actions:<\/p>\n
The immediate establishment of an independent judicial commission of inquiry to investigate all first-line charges, statutory deductions and retained revenues between 2023 and 2025.
\nA comprehensive forensic audit of the NNPCL, Nigeria Customs Service, and every revenue-generating agency operating retention mechanisms tied to gross federation revenues.
\nImmediate emergency public hearings by both chambers of the National Assembly to identify all officials and institutions responsible for approving, supervising, or benefiting from the deductions.
\nFull public disclosure of all beneficiaries, amounts retained, legal authorisations, and expenditure records associated with these deductions.
\nSuspension and prosecution of any public official found to have violated constitutional appropriation procedures or abused statutory revenue-retention provisions.
\nImmediate reform of all cost-of-collection structures and elimination of automatic percentage-based allocations operating outside transparent annual budgeting systems.<\/p>\n
HURIWA further calls on Nigerian citizens, civil society organisations, organised labour, student unions, professional associations, religious bodies, and pro-democracy groups to rise in defence of constitutional governpublic accountability.<\/p>\n
The association specifically urges constituents across the country to commence democratic recall processes against lawmakers who continue to shield executive misconduct and institutional corruption through silence and complicity.<\/p>\n
Public office must never become a licence for organised economic sabotage.<\/p>\n
Nigeria can not continue to function as a republic where ordinary citizens are subjected to suffering while politically connected institutions operate unchecked financial empires funded by public resources.<\/p>\n
HURIWA is therefore giving the Federal Government, the EFCC, ICPC, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the leadership of the National Assembly until 12 noon tomorrow to publicly announce concrete investigative and accountability measures regarding this scandal.<\/p>\n
Failure to act decisively will confirm growing public fears that Nigeria\u2019s anti-corruption framework has collapsed completely under political interference, institutional capture, and elite conspiracy against the Nigerian people.<\/p>\n
History will not forgive those who remain silent while the nation\u2019s resources are systematically stripped away under the guise of administrative deductions and fiscal procedures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has reacted with outrage, shock and deep national concern over the disturbing revelation by the World Bank that more than N34.53 trillion in Nigerian public revenue was deducted and diverted through opaque \u201cfirst-line charges\u201d before reaching the Federation Account between 2023 and 2025. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13641,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13640\/revisions\/13641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}