House Launches Probe into Service Wide Vote Corruption Allegations

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The House of Representatives has set up an ad-hoc committee to comprehensively investigate the alleged abuse of the Service Wide Vote to identify cases of misallocation, mismanagement and corruption.
The committee will also review guidelines and procedures governing the allocation and utilization of the Service Wide Vote, to ensure that it is used strictly for its intended purposes and all expenditures are subject to proper oversight.

The committee has four weeks to report back to the House for further legislative action.
This resolution followed the adoption of a motion: “Need to Investigate the Abuse of Service Wide Vote in Nigeria,” moved by Hon. O. K. Chinda at plenary on Thursday.
Chinda noted that the Service Wide Vote (“SWV”) also known as the Contingency Vote is a special allocation in the federal government’s budget intended to meet unforeseen and emergency expenditures that may arise during the process.
He also noted that “the SWV is designed to address critical and urgent national needs, including natural disasters, national security emergencies and other exigencies that cannot be anticipated during the budget planning, acknowledges the importance of transparency, accountability, and open management of public funds to foster trust in government institutions and ensure that resources are used for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

He added that there have been allegations and reports of the misuse and abuse of the SWV, where funds allocated for emergency situations are diverted for other purposes, often without proper accountability or transparency.
According to him, during the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial amounts were reported withdrawn from the SWV to support the then government’s response to the crisis, however, some of these funds were allegedly diverted to other projects unrelated to the pandemic, raising concerns about the lack of proper oversight and the potential for corruption in the use of the SWV.

The lawmaker stressed that the continuous abuse of the SWV undermines the purpose for which it was created, leading to a lack of funds when genuine emergencies arise, and contribute to financial misappropriation and corruption within the public sector.

His words: “The lack of stringent oversight and the discretionary nature of the SWV has created vacuum for abuse, leading to the misallocation of public funds meant to address critical National issues.

“The abuse of the Service Wide Vote represents a significant threat to the effective governance and financial management of Nigeria. It is imperative that this House takes decisive action to investigate, address, and prevent such abuses in order to ensure that public funds are used for the benefit of all Nigerians in order to restore public trust”