The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of turning the Federal Government’s social intervention programmes into an alleged “racket” following an Auditor-General’s finding that N33.75 billion in cash transfers to 3.29 million households could not be verified.
The opposition party, in a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the inability to verify the beneficiaries raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the government’s social investment programmes.
The ADC alleged that the development was evidence that funds meant to support poor Nigerians were being diverted by government officials.
“Let us call this what it is. Not mismanagement. Not an oversight. It is an organised racket, which this government has run under the guise of a social intervention programme. They are stealing from the poor and telling them to continue to endure hardship,” Abdullahi said.
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The party recalled previous controversies surrounding the National Social Investment Programme, including the reported transfer of N585 million to a private account under former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Betta Edu.
The ADC also referred to the reported N44 billion controversy involving the National Social Investment Programme Agency under Halima Shehu, before the latest Auditor-General’s finding concerning the N33.75 billion that could not be matched to verified beneficiaries.
“At the time, the government made a show of suspending her. Now she is back in the President’s campaign council,” the statement said.
The party alleged that the latest N33.75 billion discrepancy, contained within a larger N78 billion fund, reinforced concerns about corruption in the administration of social intervention programmes.
The ADC further criticised the Federal Government’s announcement of a $1 billion Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme, arguing that the government had not demonstrated sufficient measures to prevent a recurrence of alleged financial irregularities.
“Barely weeks before this audit blew up in their faces, they wheeled out a new $1 billion so-called ‘Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme’ with the usual State House fanfare,” Abdullahi said.
He added that, based on what the party described as the “familiar history” of previous interventions, the new programme could face similar challenges if transparency and accountability were not strengthened.
The ADC also linked the growing need for social intervention to the economic hardship Nigerians have experienced under the Tinubu administration.
The party criticised the removal of fuel subsidy and currency devaluation, alleging that the policies had increased the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty and consequently increased dependence on government cash transfers.
“Their twin disastrous policies of fuel subsidy removal and currency devaluation have exploded the population of Nigerians living in extreme poverty and therefore needing cash handouts from the government, which has now become a mere pretext for stealing in the name of the poor,” the party said.
The ADC called for a comprehensive investigation into the social intervention scheme and demanded the immediate publication of the full beneficiary register.
It also demanded the release of the REMITA payment trail and the names of officials allegedly responsible for obstructing the Auditor-General’s work.
