The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu “to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) to urgently account for over ₦78.8 billion in public funds reportedly diverted, unaccounted for, or irregularly spent.”
The grave allegations are documented in the 2024 Annual Report published by the Auditor-General of the Federation on 7 August 2026. According to the Auditor-General, the findings in the report variously covered periods between January and December 2023 and ending on 31 December 2024.
SERAP urged the President “to direct the Ministry and NCTO to publish the full records and audit trail of the ₦33.751 billion 2023 cash transfers, including the name of the beneficiaries, payments, verification, authorizations, and reconciliation, and to explain the failure to provide REMITA records to the Auditor-General.”
SERAP urged him “to direct the Ministry and NCTO to account for the ₦36.744 billion payments made without prepayment audit, the ₦4.616 billion in unsupported expenditures, the ₦350.182 million enrolment payments, the ₦89.511 million store purchases, and the ₦17.422 million diesel advances.”
SERAP also urged him “to direct appropriate anticorruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate the ₦76.24 billion in questionable and unaccounted-for expenditures at NCTO and ₦2.55 billion at NASSCO, and to ensure the recovery and remittance of any public funds improperly spent, diverted, or lost.”
In the letter dated 5 September 2026 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said, “Anyone suspected to be responsible should be sanctioned and prosecuted as appropriate if sufficient admissible evidence is established, irrespective of status, position, or institutional affiliation.”
SERAP said, “Every naira identified in the report must be properly accounted for, and any public funds found to have been diverted, misapplied, or ‘paid to ineligible or fictitious beneficiaries’ must be fully recovered and remitted to the Treasury.”
The letter, read in part, “The Ministry should be directed to publish a clear schedule showing the amount recovered, the date of recovery, the institution responsible, and the Treasury account into which each recovered amount was paid.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions and measures, including before the ECOWAS Court and the Inspection Panel and the World Bank Accountability Mechanism, to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
“There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these very serious allegations.”
“The findings raise fundamental questions about the integrity, transparency, and effectiveness of Nigeria’s social protection system, particularly where billions of naira are intended to provide assistance to poor and vulnerable households/beneficiaries.”
