Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, demanding that they refer allegations of the diversion, misapplication, or disappearance of over ₦6.3 billion in constituency project funds to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and possible prosecution. In a letter dated June 27, 2026, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP warned that if the National Assembly leadership fails to act within the stipulated timeframe, the organisation would institute legal proceedings to compel compliance in the public interest.
The allegations, documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2022 Annual Report published on September 9, 2025, uncovered widespread financial and procurement irregularities across several federal ministries, departments, and agencies, including the Environmental Health Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, the Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS). The Auditor-General identified numerous cases of payments into private bank accounts, contracts awarded without due process, payments for contracts not executed or services not rendered, undocumented expenditures, inflated contracts, procurement irregularities, and failures to account for public funds, recommending in each case that the funds be recovered and remitted to the treasury.
According to the audited report, contained in pages 367 to 396, EHORECON paid over N22.9 million into the private accounts of some staff members from the Constituency Projects Fund Account, with no evidence of utilisation and no explanation for the payments. The Council also awarded suspicious consultancy contracts of over N12 million for the development of modern abattoirs in Kebbi State and the supervision of seven projects in Kebbi, Jigawa, and Abuja, but the expected deliverables could not be found. Altogether, the Auditor-General’s report alleged that EHORECON paid more than ₦1.8 billion in constituency project funds through questionable transactions.
SERAP also highlighted findings that the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, made several undocumented payments, including over ₦279 million for youth empowerment and vocational training programmes without supporting documentation. The institution allegedly disbursed another ₦279.7 million as mobilisation fees without proper records and paid over ₦629 million to contractors without evidence of due procurement procedures. The Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, was also implicated, with the Auditor-General uncovering mobilisation payments exceeding ₦407 million without supporting documents, over ₦399 million allegedly paid to unqualified contractors, contract inflation of more than ₦192 million, and several payments for projects said to have been poorly executed or not executed at all. NAPTIP was accused of awarding contracts worth over ₦21.8 million in violation of procurement rules and making undocumented payments exceeding ₦176.8 million for consultancy and logistics services, alongside payments for projects allegedly not executed. NILDS failed to submit audited financial statements covering 2012 to 2022, did not remit more than ₦15 million in stamp duties, and spent ₦1.6 million without proper authorisation.
In the letter, SERAP urged Akpabio and Abbas to ensure that anyone found responsible is prosecuted where there is sufficient admissible evidence, and that any constituency project funds or other public funds found to have been diverted or unaccounted for are fully recovered and remitted to the treasury. The organisation also demanded the full disclosure of the names of the contractors and companies—including their shareholders and beneficial owners—that received constituency project funds but failed to execute the projects. SERAP argued that the National Assembly has a responsibility to curb allegations of corruption in constituency funds, but the body can only effectively perform its anti-corruption role if it can demonstrate exemplary leadership to probe the allegations of corruption involving the constituency projects approved by the lawmakers. “The allegations that over ₦6.3 billion in constituency project funds may have been diverted suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), and international standards,” the letter read.
SERAP maintained that corruption in constituency projects disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable Nigerians by reducing access to quality healthcare, education, and other essential public services. The organisation argued that the allegations, if established, would amount to breaches of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act 2007, as well as Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires public institutions to eliminate corruption and abuse of power. “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the National Assembly to comply with our request in the public interest,” the letter stated.
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