The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has given the Independent National Electoral Commission seven days to account for over ₦126.46 billion in public funds appropriated for electoral operations but allegedly “diverted, lost, mismanaged or otherwise unaccounted for.”
The organisation noted that the funds relate to the procurement of ballot boxes, electoral devices and materials, sensitive materials, and result sheets, among other goods and services required for the conduct and administration of elections.
The call was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, September 12, 2026, by the organisation’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday.
It referenced the 2023 audited report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026, which covered periods between January and December 2022 and, in some cases, extended to December 31, 2023.
“SERAP urged INEC to account for the over ₦126 billion, including the amounts paid, the beneficiaries of the payments, the contracts and procurement processes, the contractors and suppliers involved, and evidence of delivery, utilisation and the current status of the goods, services and electoral assets concerned,” the statement partly read.
The organisation also urged the INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan and the commission “to refer the alleged diversion, unlawful expenditure, procurement violations and other financial misconduct documented by the Auditor-General to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation, prosecution and recovery.”
It added that Amupitan and INEC should “identify the public officials, contractors, companies, suppliers and consultants responsible and take all necessary steps to recover any of the over ₦126 billion found to have been unlawfully or irregularly paid, lost, diverted, or paid for goods and services not supplied or properly utilised.”
The organisation said, “Electoral resources are public resources. INEC must be able to account for every naira, demonstrate that it was lawfully spent and show that it served the purposes for which it was appropriated.
“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 INEC to comply with our request in the public interest.”
Adding further, SERAP stated that “these findings are particularly disturbing given the constitutional importance of INEC and the fact that the expenditure concerns resources appropriated for the administration of Nigeria’s electoral system.
“These findings suggest a grave violation of the public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), national anti-corruption laws, and the country’s obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption.
“According to the Auditor-General, INEC ‘irregularly paid’ over ₦112 billion [₦112,155,597,845.00] ‘for ballot boxes, electoral devices, items and materials without competitive bidding or a BPP Certificate of No Objection.’”
“The Auditor-General found ‘no evidence that the items were procured.’ The ‘contracts were awarded to companies whose competences, experience, capacities, addresses and factory locations were unknown.’ He is concerned that the money ‘may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered.”
The organisation also stated, “INEC also ‘paid over ₦1 billion [₦1,058,925,000.00] for Toyota Prado TXL 2021 Model without advertisement, competitive bidding, bid evaluation or a BPP Certificate of No Objection.’ The Auditor-General fears that the money ‘may have been lost’ and that the contracts ‘may have been inflated.’
“INEC ‘paid over ₦3 billion [₦3,136,806,050.00] to four contractors for ballot guides, sensitive materials and result sheets before the contracts were awarded, with no evidence of payment.’ The Auditor-General is concerned that the money ‘may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.
“INEC also ‘paid over ₦9 billion [₦9,245,965,502.60] for 22 contracts for similar goods and services’, with the contracts ‘split to circumvent procurement procedures and awarded on the same day.’ The Auditor-General said the money ‘may have been lost’ and that ‘the payment may have been made for items not supplied.’
“INEC ‘paid over ₦129 million [₦129,375,000.00] to 19 accounting firms for financial audit services without evidence of utilisation or requests and expenditure by the consultants.’ The Auditor-General raised concerns that the money ‘may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury,” among others.
It urged the electoral body to ensure that “no electoral equipment, material or other public asset covered by the Auditor-General’s findings is disposed of, transferred, destroyed, written off or otherwise dealt with in a manner that could frustrate accountability or recovery pending completion of the reconciliation and any resulting investigation.
“Any referral to the EFCC and ICPC should expressly cover the contractors, companies, suppliers and consultants who irregularly received public funds, as well as any INEC officials or other public officials who authorised, processed, facilitated or benefited from the transactions.
“The recommended investigations should determine, among other things: whether the contracted goods and services were actually supplied; whether payments corresponded with goods and services actually delivered; and whether contracts were deliberately split to circumvent procurement requirements,” among others.
SERAP cautioned that “Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions, including INEC, to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on INEC to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the Constitution.”
Credit: punchng.com
