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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order an urgent investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving more than ₦78.8 billion under the federal government’s cash transfer and social protection programmes.
SERAP, in a letter dated September 5, 2026 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, urged the President to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Money Transfer Office (NCTO) and the National Social Safety Net Coordination Office (NASSCO) to account for funds that the Auditor General of the Federation has identified as diverted, unaccounted for or irregularly spent.
The organization based its request on findings contained in the 2024 annual report of the Auditor General of the Federation, published on 7 August 2026.
According to SERAP, the Auditor General’s findings covered transactions and activities undertaken between January and December 2023 and, in some cases, up to 31 December 2024.
The charges center on the management of funds intended to support poor and vulnerable Nigerians through the federal government’s social protection and cash transfer programs.
SERAP said the findings raise serious questions about the integrity of the system, particularly because billions of naira intended to reach vulnerable families were allegedly disbursed without sufficient documentation to demonstrate that legitimate beneficiaries had actually received the funds.
At the center of the dispute is ₦33.751 billion reportedly transferred by the NCTO to 3,295,207 families and beneficiaries in 35 states in 2023. SERAP said the Auditor General found that the NCTO failed to provide adequate evidence confirming receipt of the funds by the beneficiaries.
The organization said the NCTO also failed to provide the REMITA statements needed to authenticate payments, verify beneficiaries and establish that the money reached eligible recipients.
SERAP, therefore, asked Tinubu to direct the Ministry and NCTO to publish the complete records and audit trail of the 2023 money transfers.
Such records, according to the organization, should include the names or appropriately protected information of beneficiaries, payments made, verification records, authorizations, reconciliation documents and other evidence demonstrating the authenticity of transactions.
It also sought an explanation for the failure to provide the REMITA records requested by the Auditor General.
SERAP said the federal government should reconcile payments with the National Social Registry and the National Registry of Beneficiaries, independently verifying the identity and eligibility of beneficiaries.
The exercise, he said, should establish whether beneficiaries were duplicate, fictitious, deceased, ineligible or otherwise irregular.
The organization also requested the publication of state-by-state beneficiary numbers, amounts disbursed, payment dates, failed and canceled transactions, funds returned to the Treasury, as well as administrative and transaction costs incurred under the program. It also asked the government to establish whether there is an independent mechanism through which people named as beneficiaries but who have not received payments can lodge complaints.
SERAP said similar safeguards should apply where people’s identities or bank accounts may have been used without their knowledge.
Beyond the cash transfers themselves, SERAP drew attention to a number of irregularities in spending and procurement identified by the Auditor General.
The audit reportedly found that the NCTO made payments of ₦36.744 billion without prepayment audits or internal audit controls, contrary to applicable financial regulations. Another ₦4.616 billion was reportedly spent without adequate supporting documentation.
According to SERAP, the Auditor General expressed concern that unpaid expenditure could have been diverted.
The NCTO is also said to have spent ₦89.511 million on store items that were not delivered or entered into the store register, with the audit finding that the store register had not been updated since 2020.
The office also reportedly disbursed ₦350.182 million to state coordinators for enrollment of non-bank beneficiaries, but auditors found no adequate beneficiary lists, acknowledgments or other supporting documents to justify the funds.
Another ₦17.422 million was reportedly spent via cash advances to staff for the purchase of diesel, rather than through the applicable procurement process. Auditors were also reportedly unable to trace purchased items back to stores.
The audit also identified ₦280.42 million paid as mobilization and advance payments to payment service providers without advance payment guarantee, without any evidence that due process was followed in their selection.
The NCTO was also accused of failing to account for ₦393.71 million in unused funds reportedly disbursed to nine states for beneficiary enrollment activities.
Although the office claimed that the funds had been returned to the Treasury, the Auditor General found no evidence to show that the money had been credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
SERAP said financial concerns were not limited to the NCTO, as the Auditor General also identified questionable transactions involving NASSCO.
The findings include ₦2.24 billion paid via 158 vouchers without prepayment verification.
It was also reported that NASSCO paid ₦44.55 million for laptops that were not delivered or entered into the store’s register.
Another ₦19.76 million was reportedly spent on advertising without evidence that the publications had been made, while ₦141.01 million was paid to two contractors for software without the necessary authorization from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The audit also reportedly identified ₦16.93 million paid to 56 officials for data reconciliation of the National Social Register without supporting documentation.
An additional ₦14.53 million was reportedly paid for the reimbursement of staff related to National Social Register validation and verification activities without supporting documentation.
SERAP said the audit found that ₦14.53 million was refunded to one official rather than paid individually to the 55 affected employees, without any acknowledgment of receipt.
Other transactions cited included ₦27.56 million awarded to an unqualified contractor for designing and printing materials and ₦44 million in insurance premiums paid to two companies without proof of payment of premiums.
The organization warned that failure to act would push it to consider legal measures, including proceedings before the ECOWAS Court and the World Bank Accountability Mechanism Inspection Committee.
He argued that the charges were particularly serious because the funds were intended to support some of Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
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