Tinubu Government And The Unconditional Cash Transfer Fraud -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

I have never believed in the APC-led government programs especially their so-called social intervention thing. During the time of Buhari we heard of the school feeding program where even it was said that children were fed in their parents’ homes during the holidays and during the COVID-19 sit-at-home period. We have of the social intervention funds alias Tradermonie that the former vice-president Yemi Osinbajo handled that was a colossal fraud meant to buy vote from unsuspecting local traders. There was no accountability and no appropriate records of disbursement and beneficiaries.

Now under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the same fraudulent trend has continued. Every day, from the propagandists and the various social media platforms, we read about unconditional cash transfer to poor people. The questions have always been: is it true that the government is transferring money to poor people? And who are these poor people? How were the poor people identified? Did the government have a data base of the poor? Are they really any transfers to the poor families? These poor families, do they operate any bank account? If there are transfers, are they not for settlement of the APC political thugs? If there are transfers, they not for inducement and vote-buying as the APC government has institutionalized? Transferring money to people to eat for a day or two instead of empowering the people to create wealth, is it a wise economic decision? And if there are real transfers to people, how much would be needed to make the people survive the prevalent harsh economic condition now? Which agencies of the government handle these unconditional cash transfers? Can the government agencies involved in these transfers produce evidence of these transfers? And how long would the government sustain such unconditional transfers?

Thus, I am not in any way surprised about the findings of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation in its recent report entitled: “2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”, about the indictment of National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO). In the report which covered the activities of the NCTO for the period of 2023 financial year, the audit reveals that the government claims to have remitted N33.751 billion electronically to 3,295,207 households across 35 states of the federation was not supported by sufficient documentation, payment vouchers details or remita statements to prove that the funds reached genuine verified beneficiaries.

The audit found that the electronic payment records and vouchers lacked complete beneficiary details and the essential bank financial tracking statements needed to confirm receipts were not provided. And secondly, the staff at the NCTO office blocked or failed to cooperate with efforts to verify the disbursements. The same report highlighted additional unverified spending, including ₦36.74 billion paid out without mandatory pre-payment audits and ₦4.62 billion lacking supporting vouchers.

The report covers the 2023 disbursement alone. We don’t know yet the amount disbursed in 2024 and 2025 and how much that has been disbursed so far in 2026 as the election year beckons. The report so far indicates possible fraud and misappropriation of public funds. And the behavior of the officers of the National Cash Transfer Office indicates that they do not care, probably because they have back-up from the powers from above. And as the Atiku Campaign Office observes, “the core issue is accountability. Without a transparent Social Register, traceable payment channels, and independent verifications, it is impossible to confirm who got paid and who did not. That creates doubt and weakens public trust in government interventions”.

To me, it calls for the question the usefulness of the program of unconditional cash transfer and the relevance of the National Cash Transfer Office. Recall that the Cash Transfer Program was announced ostensibly as emergency support to help households cope with the fuel subsidy removal, rising food prices and transport costs by the President Tinubu administration. Even though it sounds vague and wasteful but for some Nigerians, it was supposed to be a temporary relief from the pains of the harsh economic policies of the government. And the question we need to ask now is has the office or the program helped the suffering masses out of poverty ad hardship three years after it was established?

The APC government has always shown lack of commitment to developing the economy and uplifting the welfare of the people. The government invests more in propaganda, misinformation and suppression of the opposition and advocacy. All the policy direction of the government tend towards creating fraudulent loopholes to benefit the very few in government and their supporters. The NCTO has proved to be a failure and a drain pipe for public funds. We demand a comprehensive probe of the operations of the office and appropriate punishment meted out to those involved in the fraud.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK