Court voids N110bn N’Assembly vehicles, allowances vote

The Federal High Court in Lagos has declared unlawful the National Assembly’s controversial N110bn expenditure on vehicles and allowances for lawmakers, holding that the spending violated procurement laws, constitutional obligations and the public trust. In a judgment delivered on May 6, 2026, Justice Yellim Bogoro ruled that the planned expenditure of N40bn for the procurement of 465 vehicles for members of the National Assembly and N70bn in support allowances for newly elected lawmakers breached the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution.

The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1606/2023, was instituted by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project against the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas on behalf of members of both chambers. Justice Bogoro also directed Akpabio and Abbas to ensure that all future procurements and expenditures of public funds by the National Assembly strictly comply with due process requirements and are guided by transparency, accountability and value for money.

The court held that the scale of the expenditure and the failure to demonstrate compliance with due process rendered the procurement unlawful. “Looking at the magnitude of the expenditure, coupled with the absence of demonstrable due process, leads me to conclude that the procurement is arbitrary, disproportionate and inconsistent with statutory procurement standards,” the judge held.