Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Federal Government to account for ₦33.75 billion reportedly disbursed to 3.29 million vulnerable households, following audit queries over the cash-transfer programme.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the audit findings had raised serious questions about the government’s ability to demonstrate that funds appropriated to cushion the impact of economic hardship actually reached their intended beneficiaries.
Atiku said the reported ₦33.75 billion amounts to an average of about ₦10,258 per household, describing the intervention as grossly inadequate amid rising food, transportation, electricity and other living costs. He argued that the situation was more disturbing because the limited assistance was itself now under audit scrutiny.
The former Vice President also questioned the government’s varying claims about the number of beneficiaries, noting that officials had previously cited figures ranging from 10 million to 15 million households, with more than ₦600 billion reportedly disbursed. He demanded a clear account showing the actual number of beneficiaries, amounts paid to each household and dates of payment.
According to Atiku, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, has questioned ₦33.75 billion reportedly paid to 3.29 million beneficiaries, as well as ₦36.74 billion allegedly disbursed without pre-payment audit and ₦4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were reportedly not produced. He commended Chira for raising the concerns despite his appointment by the present administration.
Atiku described the development as more than a bookkeeping issue, accusing the government of failing poor Nigerians who were promised relief from the consequences of its economic policies. “A ministerial announcement is not proof of payment. A name on a social register is not a bank alert,” he said, insisting that the government must provide verifiable evidence of how the funds were distributed.
He further described the alleged failure to account for the money as “unapologetic wickedness against the poor,” arguing that resources appropriated in the name of vulnerable Nigerians must be transparently traced. Atiku said the audit findings should compel the government to provide Nigerians with a coherent and independently verifiable account of its social intervention spending.
