The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa to a Federal High Court in Lagos “compelling him to explain the disparity between budgetary allocations to primary education and the reality that several of the around 1,124 primary schools across the State are in shambles, and with very poor teaching facilities.”
Other defendants in the case are the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Delta State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
According to the lawsuit filed by SERAP, “tens of thousands of Nigerian children are being left behind in Delta state and their futures put in jeopardy. These children are being short-changed and they deserve to know how much exactly has the state government spent between 2015 and 2019, on their education.
“The refusal by the governor, UBEC and SUBEB to respond to SERAP’s FOI requests can only be construed to mean denial of the information sought. We shouldn’t have to ask for the information on spending on primary schools in the state.
“The poor conditions of primary schools across the state would seem to suggest that the government has abandoned poor children in Delta state.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.