The question surrounding Nigeria’s poverty alleviation programmes is no longer just about how much money the government has allocated, but whether the people those funds were meant to help are actually receiving the support.
This concern is at the centre of a new lawsuit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Government over alleged financial irregularities involving more than ₦78.8 billion allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
The suit, filed at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, follows findings contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026. The reported irregularities involve the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.
According to the audit findings cited by SERAP, approximately ₦33.751 billion reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states could not be adequately verified because the relevant authorities did not provide sufficient records to confirm payments and reconcile beneficiary details.
The report also questioned ₦36.744 billion in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits and ₦4.616 billion in expenditures that lacked adequate supporting documentation. Other questioned payments included funds for enrolment, store purchases and diesel advances.
These findings do not, by themselves, establish that the entire sum was stolen or diverted. They do, however, raise serious questions about financial controls, record-keeping and the ability of public institutions to demonstrate that money has been properly spent.
For Nigerians struggling with the cost of food, housing, healthcare and other basic needs, the issue goes beyond figures in an audit report.
Cash-transfer programmes are designed to provide financial assistance to vulnerable households, particularly those facing extreme poverty. When questions arise over billions of naira allocated for such programmes, the immediate concern is whether eligible families received the support intended for them.
SERAP is asking the court to compel the government to provide a comprehensive and verifiable account of the questioned funds, investigate the reported irregularities, recover money found to have been improperly spent or diverted, and take appropriate action against anyone found responsible.
The organisation is also seeking stronger financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to prevent similar problems in future.
The case places renewed attention on a basic responsibility of government: public funds must be accounted for, particularly when they are intended to support people who have little financial security.
There is also a need to distinguish between funds that are genuinely missing, payments that cannot yet be verified and expenditure that may have breached financial procedures. Each requires investigation, and any individual or institution found responsible must be given due process.
The Federal Government and the relevant agencies now face questions that deserve clear answers: Where did the questioned funds go? Which payments can be verified? Were eligible households paid? And what steps have been taken to address the audit findings?
No date has been fixed for the hearing of SERAP’s suit.
When billions of naira are allocated to poverty alleviation, accountability should not be an afterthought. It should be part of the programme from the beginning.
