News
SERAP Urges Tinubu to Probe Payment of N585.2m Grant into Private Account
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly probe the alleged payment by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu of N585.2 million meant for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states into a private account.”
SERAP also urged him “to direct Mr Fagbemi and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate whether the N585.2 million has been paid into any private account, and to identify and publish the names of anyone who may have received the money.”
SERAP said, “Anyone suspected to be involved in any improper payment or diversion of public funds should be brought to justice and any diverted public funds returned to the public treasury and paid directly to the rightful beneficiaries.”
In the letter dated 6 January 2024 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “Paying public funds into private accounts may create the perception or appearance of impropriety and give cover to any potential wrongdoing or diversion.”
According to SERAP, “Investigating these allegations and ensuring that the public funds meant to take care of the poor are transparently and accountably spent and recovering any diverted public funds are serious and legitimate public interests.”
The letter, read in part: “The public interests in safeguarding against the perception or appearance of impropriety or corruption also require your government to remove the opportunity for abuse inherent in the payment of public funds into private accounts.”
“The Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the country’s financial regulations and international obligations impose a fundamental obligation on your government to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds meant for socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians.”
“Your government has a legal responsibility to ensure full compliance with the Financial Regulations 2009, prohibiting the payment of public funds into private accounts, to reduce vulnerability to corruption or risks of the funds being diverted for personal ends or other unlawful purposes.”
“Government officials hold positions of public trust. Public officials are expected to ensure compliance with Nigerian laws and international standards in the discharge of their public functions.”
“The persistent lack of transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds meant to take care of the poor raises issues of public trust, makes the funds vulnerable to corruption or mismanagement, and undermines the integrity of poverty intervention programmes.”
“Your government has a legal obligation to probe and prosecute allegations of abuse of office and corruption in the spending of public funds meant to improve the conditions of vulnerable Nigerians.”
“SERAP is concerned that successive governments have failed to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds budgeted for social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects.”
“Any risks of corruption in the spending of public funds meant to take care of the poor would erode the effectiveness of the government’s oft-repeated commitment to address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on vulnerable Nigerians.”
“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 consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.
“Any failure to investigate these grave allegations, bring suspected perpetrators to justice and recover any diverted public funds would undermine the integrity of the government’s poverty intervention programmes”.
“It would also create cynicism, and eventually citizens’ distrust about the ability of your government to prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption in the programmes.”
“Nigerians have the right to be free from poverty. Any risks of diversion of public funds budgeted to lift vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty would pose both direct and indirect threats to human rights and exacerbate extreme poverty in the country.”
“It would also undermine your government’s legal obligations to effectively and progressively address and combat extreme poverty as a matter of human rights.”
“SERAP also urges you to direct Betta Edu to publish details of spending of public funds drawn from the account of the National Social Investment Program (NSIPA), an agency under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Allegation, including the names of beneficiaries and details of the amounts received by them since 29 May 2023.”
“SERAP urges you to instruct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly track and monitor the spending of any public funds drawn from the account(s) of the National Social Investment Program (NSIPA).”
“According to our information, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, in a memo dated 20 December 2023 reportedly requested the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer public fund – N585.2 million – into a private account of an official in her ministry.”
“According to the memo, the money was transferred from the National Social Investment Program office account and is meant for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states, under the federal government poverty intervention project called Grants for Vulnerable Groups. N219.4 million is to be transferred to the vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom State, N73.8 million to Cross River State, N219.4 million to Lagos State, and N72.4 million to Ogun State.”
“SERAP is seriously concerned that years of allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the spending of public funds meant to support and assist vulnerable Nigerians and entrenched impunity of perpetrators have undermined the ability of successive governments to support those most in need.”
“Section 15(5) imposes the responsibility on your government to ‘abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power’ in the country.”
“Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, your government has a responsibility to ‘secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity.’ Section 16(2) further provides that, ‘the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.’”
“Chapter 7, Section 713 of the Federal Government’s Financial Regulations 2009, provides: ‘Personal money shall in no circumstances be paid into a government bank account, nor shall any public money be paid into a private account.’”
“Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on your government to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds, and to promote sound and transparent administration of public affairs.”
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) does not currently maintain a public privacy policy on www.efcc.gov.ng, its official website.
Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, EFCC
This is despite partnering with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to ensure data compliance according to findings by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ)
As a law enforcement agency, the EFCC handles highly sensitive personal data and financial records, but its main web portal does not currently provide a formal, publicly available privacy policy detailing how user data is collected, stored, or processed.
According to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), all government websites are mandated to have privacy policies.
Section 10.4 (i, ii) of the NITDA Privacy Policy mandates all government websites to exercise diligence when collecting personal details or information about visitors to their websites.
It equally requires all government websites to incorporate prominently displayed privacy statements clearly stating the purpose for which information is being collected where the government institution seeks to or collects personal information from visitors through its website.
In addition, the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 requires every data controller to make a privacy notice available to citizens before or at the point of collecting their personal data.
That notice must state the specific lawful basis of processing, the purposes of the processing, the categories of recipients of the personal data, the existence of data subject rights, and the right to lodge a complaint with the Commission.
The law further states that such information must be contained in a privacy policy and expressed in a clear, concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible format, taking into consideration the class of data subjects targeted by the data processing.
However, on Monday, FIJ checked the anti-graft agency’s website and found that it had no privacy policy or privacy notice informing users how their personal data is collected, processed, stored or shared.
FIJ found that Nigerians can submit petitions to the EFCC on the website.
During this process, the website compulsorily collects personal data such as names, National Identification Numbers (NIN), email addresses, local government areas (LGAs), phone numbers and residential addresses.
Also, organizations and financial institutions (such as commercial banks) are legally mandated to share customer information and suspicious transactions with the EFCC to prevent financial crimes.
However, the website collects this information without specifically informing users what happens to the data they provide.
Ironically, in September 2024, the EFCC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) agreed to forge a partnership and collaboration towards strengthening cyber data protection in the country.
The agreement was reached in Abuja on September 18, 2024, when Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, led a delegation of management staff on a courtesy visit to Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, at the commission’s corporate headquarters.
Despite partnering with Nigeria’s data protection regulator, the EFCC still has no privacy policy on its website.
At press time, the EFCC met none of the privacy policy requirements stipulated by both NITDA guidelines and the NDPA 2023.
Moniepoint is proud to announce that the second cohort of its flagship DreamDevs Bootcamp is set to culminate in a Demo Day celebration on May 26, 2026, at its Ikeja facility. The event, themed “Training Done! Demo Up!”, will showcase the capstone projects built by participants following nine weeks of intensive, industry-grade software engineering training.
The DreamDevs Bootcamp is Moniepoint’s commitment to identifying and developing the brightest engineering talent across Africa. The nine-week intensive programme is designed to immerse participants in real-world, practical software engineering through a curriculum spanning Java OOP Foundations, Data Structures & Algorithms, Testing, MySQL & JDBC, Spring Boot APIs & System Design, Docker & Messaging Queues, Frontend UI & Cloud Infrastructure, and core Practical Software Engineering Concepts. In recognition of their commitment and effort, cohort participants are paid monthly throughout the duration of the programme.
The curriculum was developed by the Engineering Unit at Moniepoint and delivered in partnership with Semicolon, a leading technology education institution. Admission to the DreamDevs Bootcamp is highly competitive, with only top performers advancing through multiple stages of assessment, including a HackerRank technical test and an in-person code challenge, before earning a place in the programme.
Felix Ike, Co-Founder and CTO of Moniepoint, reflected on what the programme means to the company and the country, “Engineering excellence is a curated and intentionally built process that requires the right systems, resources, and time. The DreamDevs Bootcamp is our way of taking that responsibility seriously.
“We designed a programme that does not just teach syntax or frameworks, but develops engineers who can think, solve, and build at the highest level. Seeing graduates from our first cohort already thriving within our engineering team tells us we are on the right track, and we are excited to see what this second group brings to Demo Day.”
Some of the first cohort’s successful graduates are now active members of the Moniepoint engineering team, a testament to the programme’s effectiveness and its role as a genuine pipeline for world-class engineering talent.
The DreamDevs Bootcamp reflects Moniepoint’s broader mission to invest in Nigeria’s talent and build engineering capacity that can compete and lead on a global stage. Moniepoint looks forward to welcoming the second cohort to the fold and witnessing the innovative solutions they have built.
Federal Government on Monday unveiled digital platforms under the Office of the Tax Ombud, enabling Nigerian taxpayers to resolve tax-related disputes free of charge as part of efforts to improve fairness, transparency and accountability in tax administration.
Taiwo Oyedele
Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, disclosed this during the launch of the Tax Ombud website, toll-free call centre and case management system at Stratton Hotel, Abuja.
Oyedele described the initiative as a major milestone in Nigeria’s fiscal reform agenda, saying the platforms would make tax dispute resolution more accessible to taxpayers nationwide.
“Taxpayers, regardless of location, can now engage more easily with the dispute resolution process without unnecessary administrative bottlenecks or delays, and the good news is that it is entirely free,” he said.
According to him, the Office of the Tax Ombud was established to strengthen taxpayer protection and boost confidence in Nigeria’s tax administration system.
He said the institution would serve as an independent and impartial platform for resolving complaints, mediating disputes and addressing systemic tax issues across the country.
Oyedele added that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s broader tax reforms aimed at simplifying tax administration, reducing arbitrariness, protecting taxpayer rights, encouraging voluntary compliance and building a globally competitive fiscal system.
“As we unveil these platforms today, let this mark a new era in tax administration in Nigeria, where taxpayers are treated not as adversaries but as partners in national development,” he said.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said Nigerians needed more awareness about the role of the Tax Ombud in supporting the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Idris said the government’s economic reforms were beginning to yield positive results, citing improvements in revenue performance and investment inflows.
Also speaking, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, described the platforms as citizen-centred reforms designed to improve public access to tax complaint resolution.
She said tax administration should not only focus on revenue generation but also on strengthening trust and confidence in public institutions.
Nigeria’s first Tax Ombudsman and Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, John Nwabueze, said the office was established under Part Six of the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria Establishment Act 2025 to promote fairness, transparency and efficiency in tax administration.
He said the digital platforms would allow taxpayers to lodge complaints online or through the toll-free centre, track cases in real time and access mediation services without resorting to prolonged litigation.
Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Olusegun Adesokan, said the office was created to protect taxpayer rights and mediate disputes between citizens and revenue authorities at no cost.
Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, said the Tax Ombud forms part of the broader tax reform agenda initiated by the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee.
He noted that the reforms are aimed at widening the tax net while exempting small businesses and low-income earners from additional tax burdens.
In June 2025, President Tinubu signed four major tax reform bills into law, including the Nigeria Tax Act, in what government officials described as a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s tax system.
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