The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked 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 account for over ₦78.8 billion in public funds reportedly diverted, unaccounted for, or irregularly spent.
The allegations are contained in the 2024 Annual Report published by the Auditor-General of the Federation on August 7, 2026. The findings cover periods between January 2023 and December 2024.
In a letter dated September 5, 2026, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged the President to direct the Ministry and NCTO to publish the full records and audit trail of the ₦33.751 billion in 2023 cash transfers, including beneficiary names, payment verifications, authorisations, and reconciliations, and to explain the failure to provide REMITA records to the Auditor-General.
SERAP also wants the Ministry and NCTO to account for ₦36.744 billion in payments made without prepayment audit, ₦4.616 billion in unsupported expenditures, ₦350.182 million in enrolment payments, ₦89.511 million in store purchases, and ₦17.422 million in diesel advances.
The group further urged anticorruption agencies to promptly investigate ₦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.
“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.
The organisation added that every naira identified in the report must be properly accounted for, and any funds found diverted or paid to ineligible or fictitious beneficiaries must be fully recovered and remitted to the Treasury.
SERAP is asking that the Ministry publish a clear schedule showing amounts recovered, dates of recovery, the institution responsible, and the Treasury account into which each recovered sum was paid.
The group gave the government seven days from receipt or publication of the letter to act, warning that it would consider legal action, including before the ECOWAS Court and the World Bank Inspection Panel, to compel compliance.
According to the Auditor-General’s report, NCTO made ₦33.751 billion in cash transfers to 3,295,207 households in 35 states in 2023 without evidence confirming that beneficiaries actually received the money. The office reportedly failed to provide REMITA statements needed to authenticate the payments and could not establish whether beneficiaries were genuine and eligible.
The report also found that NCTO paid ₦4.616 billion for various expenditures without adequate supporting documentation, and ₦36.74 billion in December 2023 without prepayment or internal audit checks. Other findings include ₦89.51 million paid for store items never delivered or logged, ₦350.18 million disbursed to state coordinators for beneficiary enrolment that remains unaccounted for, and ₦17.42 million spent on diesel purchases through cash advances without following procurement procedure.
Additional findings show NCTO paid ₦280.42 million in mobilisation and advance payments to Payment Service Providers without an Advance Payment Guarantee, and failed to account for ₦393.71 million in unutilised funds disbursed to nine states for enrolment activities.
At NASSCO, the audit found ₦2.24 billion paid through 158 vouchers without prepayment audit, ₦44.55 million for laptops never delivered, ₦19.76 million for advertisements with no evidence of publication, and ₦141.01 million paid to two contractors for software without NITDA clearance. The report also flagged ₦16.93 million paid to 56 officers for National Social Register data reconciliation without supporting documentation, and ₦14.53 million paid to a single officer as reimbursement meant for 55 staff, with no acknowledgements of receipt.
SERAP said the audit findings reveal repeated failures of basic financial controls, including missing payment and procurement records, unverifiable expenditures, and inadequate beneficiary documentation — concerns it says are especially serious given that the funds are meant to support Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
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