HURIWA, HEDA, SERAP demand accountability from FG, CBN, MoW - The Guardian Nigeria News
N600b cash transfer, N60.1b contracts, $6.23m election funds, N1.63tr public fund at stake
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has rejected the explanation offered by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, over the Federal Government’s claim that more than N600 billion was distributed to over 10 million vulnerable Nigerians through its conditional cash transfer programme.
This was as the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) called for an immediate and independent investigation into the award and payment of N60.1 billion in contracts by the Federal Ministry of Works to Reinforced Global Resources Limited.
Relatedly, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, and the apex bank to account for $6.23 million allegedly spent on election funding and more than N1.63 trillion in other public funds identified in the 2023 report of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
According to HURIWA, the APC chairman’s political explanation cannot substitute for documentary evidence.
“The central issue is not whether poor Nigerians have access to smartphones or social media. The question is simple: Where are the records showing that more than 10 million households actually received the reported N600 billion?” HURIWA asked.
The association, through a statement signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, therefore, demanded that the Federal Government publish a comprehensive and independently verifiable breakdown of the programme, including the number of beneficiaries in each state and local government, the criteria used for their selection, the amounts paid, dates of payment and channels through which the funds were transferred.
HURIWA said it was particularly concerned about conflicting accounts emerging from different parts of the country.
While officials in some states have confirmed beneficiaries of various cash-transfer programmes, the association said investigations had also produced accounts from states where residents, and even some government officials, claimed they could not identify beneficiaries or establish clear records of the reported payments.
“This contradiction cannot simply be wished away,” the group said.
HURIWA urged the Federal Government to clearly distinguish among the various social intervention programmes implemented under successive administrations and to provide Nigerians with a consolidated account of what was actually disbursed under the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer Programme.
HEDA also raised concerns over reported procurement irregularities, including advance payments on the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Road project and questions around the disclosure of relationships in public procurement.
BusinessDay had reported that about 42 per cent of the project value was paid through advance payments released in quick succession.
HEDA’s Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, said the reported transactions warranted scrutiny and should not be reduced to a political controversy.
“Where billions of naira in public funds are involved, Nigerians are entitled to know whether the procurement process was transparent, competitive and compliant with the law,” he said.
He called on the relevant anti-corruption and law-enforcement agencies to investigate the contracts and determine whether any laws or financial regulations were breached.
Suraju also stressed that any investigation should be guided by due process and that accountability should apply regardless of political affiliation or status.
SERAP, in a letter at the weekend, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the allegations were contained in Volume II of the Auditor-General’s 2023 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026, with the findings variously covering January to December 2023.
The funds cited by SERAP include N1.25 trillion in CBN intervention loans to state governments, N116.18 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, N262.86 billion under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), and $6.23 million reportedly spent following a purported request for election funding allegedly made by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group urged Cardoso and the CBN to disclose the beneficiaries, amounts disbursed and recovery measures relating to the intervention loans to states and distressed banks.
It also demanded details of the ABP, including the names and number of beneficiaries and participating Anchors, amounts disbursed, utilisation, monitoring arrangements and recovery measures.
On the $6.23 million, SERAP urged the CBN to publish the findings of its internal investigation into the alleged fraud, including measures taken to recover the funds and establish responsibility.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General reported that the CBN failed to recover N1.2 trillion in intervention loans granted to states and expressed concern that the funds could have been diverted to private purposes.
