The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to launch an independent investigation into the Federal Government’s reported disbursement of N33.75 billion in cash transfers to 3.29 million vulnerable households.

Atiku said the probe became necessary following concerns reportedly raised in an audit over whether the funds actually reached the Nigerians listed as beneficiaries.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President said the audit findings raised serious questions about the management of funds earmarked to cushion the impact of the economic hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

He described the development as a “devastating indictment” of the Bola Tinubu administration, arguing that the government had withdrawn the subsidy, increased taxes and tariffs, raised the cost of transportation, electricity and food, and subsequently promised financial support to vulnerable Nigerians.

Atiku questioned the adequacy of the intervention, noting that N33.75 billion shared among 3.29 million households amounted to approximately N10,258 per household.

He said it was troubling that even such a modest intervention had allegedly failed to withstand basic audit scrutiny.

“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.”

The ADC presidential candidate also commended the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, for what he described as putting constitutional responsibility above political considerations.

Atiku said the concerns were compounded by what he described as inconsistencies in the government’s figures on the cash-transfer programme.

According to him, the government had claimed that more than N600 billion was disbursed to over 10 million households, despite Nigerians previously being told that about 15 million households were beneficiaries.

He consequently questioned whether the administration could provide a consistent account of the number of households that actually received the intervention.

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

He further cited audit concerns involving N36.74 billion in payments allegedly made without pre-payment audit and another N4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were reportedly not produced.

Atiku said the funds must be subjected to thorough scrutiny because they were appropriated in the name of Nigerians facing the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

He announced plans to constitute an independent panel comprising financial, audit, technology and public-accounting experts to examine the records surrounding the cash-transfer programme.

The former Vice President said the team would scrutinise beneficiary figures, payment channels, reconciliation records, audit queries and other inconsistencies identified in the programme.

“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.”

He added that the findings of the investigation would be made available to Nigerians.

Atiku also called for transparency in the role of payment platforms, saying transaction records should be available if the reported payments were genuinely processed.

“If beneficiaries received the money, there should be evidence. If access to records was obstructed, Nigerians deserve to know by whom and why,” he said.

The ADC candidate argued that Nigerians needed sustainable improvements in purchasing power rather than repeated palliative announcements.

He said his proposed economic approach would focus on domestic production, local refining and increased energy supply, which he argued would ultimately reduce transportation, food and household costs.

Atiku maintained that the government could not withdraw the subsidy that previously provided some relief to struggling families, increase taxes and living costs, and then fail to provide convincing evidence that the interventions introduced to cushion the hardship reached their intended beneficiaries.

He therefore demanded the publication of verifiable payment trails for the cash transfers.

According to him, where beneficiaries could not be verified, the affected funds should be recovered, while any official found to have diverted, misapplied or misappropriated money meant for vulnerable Nigerians should face prosecution.