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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order an investigation into more than ₦78.8 billion in cash transfer funds it said were diverted, unaccounted for or irregularly spent under the Government’s programme.
In a letter dated September 5, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the president to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and the National Cash Transfer Office, NCTO, to account for the funds and publish relevant records.
The organisation said the concerns were contained in the 2024 Annual Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026. According to SERAP, the report examined various periods between January and December 2023, with the audit period ending on December 31, 2024.
SERAP said the Auditor-General found that NCTO transferred ₦33.751 billion to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states in 2023 without sufficient evidence that the recipients received the funds.
It said NCTO also failed to provide REMITA statements required to verify the payments and determine whether beneficiaries were genuine and eligible, while incomplete beneficiary records further hindered the audit process.
“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.
The group urged the government to reconcile the payments with the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register and independently verify beneficiaries to identify duplicate, fictitious, deceased, ineligible or otherwise irregular recipients.
SERAP also asked Tinubu to direct the humanitarian ministry and NCTO to account for ₦36.744 billion paid in December 2023 without prepayment audit or internal checks.
Other expenditures it listed included ₦4.616 billion without adequate supporting documents, ₦350.182 million paid to state coordinators for enrolling unbanked beneficiaries without sufficient documentation, ₦89.511 million for store items that were reportedly neither delivered nor recorded in the store ledger, and ₦17.422 million in cash advances to staff for diesel.
The organisation further cited ₦280.42 million paid as mobilisation and advances to payment service providers without advance payment guarantees, as well as ₦393.71 million reportedly disbursed to nine states for beneficiary enrolment activities but left unutilised.
On the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office, NASSCO, SERAP cited alleged irregular payments including ₦2.24 billion processed through 158 vouchers without prepayment audit, ₦44.55 million for laptops that were reportedly not delivered or recorded in the store ledger, ₦19.76 million for advertisements without evidence of publication and ₦141.01 million paid to two contractors for software without NITDA clearance.
SERAP also raised concerns over payments linked to the National Social Register, procurement of materials, insurance premiums and other expenditures which it said lacked adequate documentation or evidence that the goods and services were delivered.
The organisation said the audit findings pointed to repeated weaknesses in basic financial and administrative controls, including missing payment and procurement records, unverifiable goods and services, inadequate beneficiary documentation and unaccounted-for public funds.
It urged Tinubu to direct relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate what it described as ₦76.24 billion in questionable and unaccounted-for expenditures at NCTO and another ₦2.55 billion at NASSCO.
SERAP also asked the government to publish the complete records and audit trail for the ₦33.751 billion 2023 cash transfers, including beneficiary information, payments, verification, authorisations and reconciliation, and explain why REMITA records were not provided to the Auditor-General.
The organisation further requested a schedule detailing any funds recovered, the dates of recovery, the institutions responsible and the Treasury accounts into which the money was paid.
SERAP said the requested measures should be implemented within seven days of the receipt or publication of its letter. It warned that failure to act could lead to legal action, including proceedings before the ECOWAS Court and the World Bank Accountability Mechanism’s Inspection Panel.
“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 called for sufficiently detailed but anonymised information on cash transfer beneficiaries to be published, subject to safeguards protecting personal data and privacy.
