Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to cut the cost of governance and implement bold transparency and accountability measures in response to Nigeria’s second recession in five years.
The organisation said this in a letter dated November 21, 2020, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare.
The organisation blamed the current recession on corruption in the country.
Part of the letter read, “This economic crisis provides an opportunity to prioritise access of poor and vulnerable Nigerians to basic socio-economic rights, and to genuinely recommit to the fight against corruption. The country cannot afford getting back to business as usual.
“The president should put the country’s resources at the service of human rights, and to support the less well-off to enjoy an adequate standing of living through cutting the cost of governance and implementing bold transparency and accountability measures in your government’s response to Nigeria’s second recession in five years.
“Implementing human rights, transparency, and accountability measures would save money, address projected adverse human rights impacts of the recession, and fast-track the economic recovery process. It is not too late to take urgent measures that would put the country’s wealth and resources to work for the common good of all Nigerians.
“Decades of mismanagement and corruption, and deep-seated deficiencies in public financial management have directly contributed to higher levels of borrowing and public debts, and consequently, the economic recession. Successive governments have squandered the promise afforded by the country’s natural wealth and resources.”

By Sodiq Oyeleke