The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said he will set up an independent team of experts to investigate the alleged ₦33.75 billion cash transfer reportedly made to millions of vulnerable Nigerian households.

Atiku’s position follows concerns raised in an audit report over whether the funds said to have been paid to 3.29 million households actually reached the intended beneficiaries.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President described the audit concerns as a serious indictment of an administration that removed fuel subsidy and introduced other economic policies while promising interventions to cushion the effects on vulnerable Nigerians.

The statement argued that the amount reportedly distributed was itself inadequate when broken down among the stated number of beneficiaries.

According to Atiku, ₦33.75 billion shared among 3.29 million households translates to approximately ₦10,258 per household.

He said Nigerians deserved answers, particularly because the intervention was introduced against the backdrop of rising transportation, food and energy costs.

“This is beyond a bookkeeping scandal. The intervention is insultingly small, yet even that small amount cannot be cleanly accounted for. If money meant for hungry Nigerians cannot be satisfactorily traced while access to records required for accountability is frustrated, then what we are witnessing is unapologetic wickedness against the poor. You cannot punish people with hardship and then play hide-and-seek with money appropriated in their name,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President also commended the Auditor-General of the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, for carrying out what he described as his constitutional responsibility despite the political implications of the audit findings.

“That is what institutions are supposed to do — protect the public purse, not the political comfort of those in power,” he said.

Atiku further questioned the consistency of the figures provided by the Federal Government regarding the number of households that benefited from its intervention programmes.

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While noting claims that more than ₦600 billion had been disbursed to over 10 million households, he said Nigerians had previously been told that about 15 million households were expected to benefit.

“It now appears that the Tinubu administration cannot give Nigerians a coherent account of how many households actually benefited from its intervention programme, while significant portions of the expenditure have failed to withstand independent audit scrutiny,” he said.

He insisted that official announcements alone could not substitute for evidence of actual payments.

“A ministerial announcement is not proof of payment. A name on a social register is not a bank alert,” Atiku said.

The ADC presidential candidate also referred to audit concerns reportedly surrounding ₦36.74 billion in payments allegedly made without pre-payment audit, as well as ₦4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were reportedly not produced.

“These cannot be dismissed as another set of bogus figures buried in government accounts. These are resources appropriated in the name of poor Nigerians who desperately need protection from a cost-of-living crisis aggravated by this administration’s rash economic policies,” he said.

Atiku said he believed the government could not be expected to investigate allegations surrounding expenditure carried out under its own watch, hence his decision to establish an independent team.

“My team will constitute an independent group of financial, audit, technology and public-accounting experts to interrogate the available records surrounding these cash-transfer payments. We will follow the money as far as the available public and institutional records permit. We will examine the beneficiary figures, payment channels, reconciliation records, audit queries and every material inconsistency that has emerged. When that work is completed, we will furnish Nigerians with the findings.

“There must be no black box around the poor man’s money. If Remita processed these transactions, the relevant records should be available for scrutiny. If beneficiaries received the money, there should be evidence. If access to records was obstructed, Nigerians deserve to know by whom and why.”

Beyond the planned investigation, Atiku argued that government intervention should focus more on strengthening the productive capacity of the economy and reducing the everyday cost of living for Nigerians.

He said the country needed policies that would improve purchasing power rather than temporary interventions that offered limited relief.

“Our intervention will follow production. It will support domestic refining, increase local supply, reduce the cost of energy and ensure that the benefit reaches Nigerians through lower prices. When fuel costs fall, transportation costs ease; when transportation costs ease, pressure on food prices and household budgets reduces,” he said.

The former Vice President maintained that Nigerians should not be subjected to increased economic hardship while questions remain unanswered about funds earmarked to cushion the impact of government policies.

He said the government must provide a transparent and verifiable account of how the cash transfers were handled.

“And if investigation establishes that any official diverted, misapplied or misappropriated funds meant for vulnerable Nigerians, that official must face prosecution. The poor have already paid enough through higher fuel prices, food costs, electricity bills, transportation fares and taxes. They must not also be made to lose the money appropriated in their name,” he said.

Atiku added that where genuine beneficiaries received the funds, government should be able to provide a verifiable payment trail, while any money found not to have reached its intended recipients should be recovered and those responsible held accountable.

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