SERAP urges Nigerian government to forfeit borrowing unclaimed funds

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to drop the plan by the Federal Government to borrow about N895bn of unclaimed dividends and funds in dormant accounts.

SERAP made the statement on Sunday through the deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare who described the Act as illegal and unacceptable.

The resolution to borrow is a derivative of Part XII of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) in the signed Finance Act 2020.

According to the Finance Act, signed into law by the President last December, the government is allowed to borrow unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances owned by Nigerians in any bank in the country.

Oluwadare said, “The right to property is a sacred and fundamental right. Borrowing unclaimed dividends and funds in dormant accounts amount to an illegal expropriation and would hurt poor and vulnerable Nigerians who continue to suffer under reduced public services and ultimately lead to unsustainable levels of public debt.

“The right to property extends to all forms of property, including unclaimed dividends and funds in dormant accounts. Borrowing these dividends and funds without due process of law, and the explicit consent of the owners is arbitrary, and as such, legally and morally unjustifiable.

“The borrowing is neither proportionate nor necessary. In fact, borrowing is clearly not in pursuit of public or social interest.

“The security of property, next to personal security against the exertions of government, is of the essence of liberty. It is next in degree to the protection of personal liberty and freedom from undue interference or molestation. Our constitutional jurisprudence rests largely upon its sanctity.

“Rather than pushing to borrow unclaimed dividends and funds in dormant accounts, the government ought to move swiftly to cut the cost of governance, ensure review of jumbo salaries and allowances of all high-ranking political office holders, and address the systemic corruption in MDAs, as well as improve transparency and accountability in public spending.

“The borrowing also seems to be discriminatory, as it excludes government’s owned official bank accounts and may exclude the bank accounts of high-ranking government officials and politicians, thereby violating the constitutional and international prohibition of discrimination against vulnerable groups, to allow everyone to fully enjoy their right to property and associated rights on equal terms.”

Suzan O