Atiku has demanded for the probe of ₦33.75bn cash transfer to 3.29m Nigerian households.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over the handling of ₦33.75 billion reportedly paid to 3.29 million vulnerable households under the Federal Government’s cash transfer programme.
Atiku raised the concerns in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice-president argued that the intervention was insufficient to cushion the effects of Nigeria’s rising cost of living, noting that dividing ₦33.75 billion among 3.29 million households amounted to approximately ₦10,258 per household.
According to him, Nigerians are already facing higher transportation fares, electricity costs, food prices and taxes following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
He said the government had promised to support vulnerable households but was now facing questions over whether funds allocated to the programme reached their intended beneficiaries.
“This is beyond a bookkeeping scandal. The intervention is insultingly small, yet even that small amount cannot be cleanly accounted for,” Atiku said.
The ADC candidate also questioned what he described as inconsistencies in the government’s figures concerning the number of households reached through the intervention.
Atiku said the Federal Government had claimed that more than ₦600 billion was disbursed to over 10 million households, despite earlier statements indicating that approximately 15 million households were expected to benefit.
He argued that the varying figures made it difficult for Nigerians to determine the actual number of beneficiaries and how much each household received.
Atiku had previously asked the government to explain the difference between its reported beneficiary figures, describing the situation as a major transparency concern. The dispute over the figures was earlier reported by TheCable.
He also criticised reported audit queries involving ₦36.74 billion in payments allegedly made without pre-payment audits and ₦4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were reportedly not provided.
Atiku maintained that an independent review was necessary to establish the beneficiaries, payment channels and reconciliation records connected to the cash transfer scheme.
“Nigerians cannot be expected to trust the same government to investigate transactions that are already being questioned by auditors,” he said.
“We will therefore set up an independent team of financial, audit, technology and public-accounting experts to examine the records and trace the money as far as the available records permit.”
According to him, the proposed team would examine beneficiary figures, payment channels, reconciliation records and relevant audit queries before presenting its findings to Nigerians.
“There must be no black box around the poor man’s money,” Atiku added.
The former vice-president also called for a shift from temporary palliatives to economic policies capable of strengthening household purchasing power and reducing the cost of essential goods and services.
He argued that social interventions should be transparent, properly targeted and supported by policies that address the underlying causes of poverty and economic hardship.
The Federal Government’s cash transfer programme was introduced to provide temporary support to vulnerable Nigerians affected by economic reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidy. Beneficiaries were expected to receive ₦25,000 monthly for three months under the initial structure of the programme.
Atiku’s latest criticism adds to calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the government’s social intervention funds.
The Presidency or relevant implementing agencies had not publicly responded to the latest allegations at the time of filing this report.
