SERAP urges Tinubu to probe N78.8tn cash transfer scandal

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct relevant agencies to account for more than ₦78.8bn in public funds it said were “diverted, unaccounted for or irregularly spent” under the Federal Government’s cash transfer programme.

SERAP also urged Tinubu to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and the National Cash Transfer Office to “publish the full records and audit trail of the ₦33.751 billion 2023 cash transfers, including the name of the beneficiaries, payments, verification, authorisations and reconciliation, and to explain the failure to provide REMITA records to the Auditor-General.”

It urged him to direct both MDAs “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.”

The organisation also urged the president “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 the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.”

SERAP made the demand in a letter dated September 5, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, according to a statement issued by the organisation on Sunday.

The organisation said the allegations were documented in the 2024 Annual Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026.

It said the report covered various periods between January and December 2023, ending on December 31, 2024.

“SERAP is particularly concerned about the Auditor-General’s finding that the NCTO made ₦33.751 billion in cash transfers to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries in 35 states in 2023 without evidence confirming receipt of the money by the beneficiaries.

“The Auditor-General found that the NCTO failed to provide REMITA statements needed to authenticate the payments and establish whether the beneficiaries were genuine and eligible. The audit report also raised concerns about incomplete beneficiary information and frustration of the audit process,” the statement read.

It added, “The Federal Government must reconcile the payments against the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register and independently verify the identity and eligibility of beneficiaries, including identifying any duplicate, fictitious, deceased, ineligible or otherwise irregular beneficiaries.

“According to the Auditor-General’s report, the NCTO paid ₦4.616 billion for various expenditures without adequate supporting documentation. The Auditor-General is concerned that ‘the money may have been diverted.’”

According to SERAP, the audit report also found that NCTO paid ₦36.74bn in December 2023 without prepayment or internal audit checks, ₦89.51m for store items that were not delivered or entered in the store ledger, and ₦350.18m to state coordinators for the enrolment of unbanked beneficiaries without adequate documentation.

SERAP further cited the Auditor-General’s findings on ₦17.42m spent through cash advances to staff for diesel, ₦280.42m paid as mobilisation and advance payments to payment service providers without advance payment guarantees, and ₦393.71m in unutilised funds reportedly disbursed to nine states for beneficiary enrolment activities.

On NASSCO, SERAP cited alleged irregular payments including ₦2.24bn through 158 vouchers without prepayment audit, ₦44.55m for laptops that were not delivered or entered in the store ledger, ₦19.76m for advertisements without evidence of publication, and ₦141.01m paid to two contractors for software without NITDA clearance.

The organisation also cited payments involving the National Social Register, procurement of materials, insurance premiums and other expenditures which it said lacked adequate supporting documentation or evidence of delivery.

SERAP said the findings revealed “repeated failures of basic financial and administrative controls,” including missing payment and procurement records, payments for unverifiable goods and services, inadequate beneficiary documentation and unaccounted-for public funds.

It urged the government to publish a schedule showing amounts recovered, dates of recovery, responsible institutions and the Treasury accounts into which recovered funds were 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, 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,” SERAP said.

The organisation also urged the government to publish sufficiently detailed and anonymised information on beneficiaries of the cash transfer programmes, subject to appropriate safeguards for personal data and privacy.

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