The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Sunday, September 27, 2026, rejected the explanation by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, over the Federal Government’s claim that more than ₦600 billion was distributed to over 10 million vulnerable Nigerians through the conditional cash transfer programme.
HURIWA stressed that there was no way the APC National Chairman could substitute a political explanation for documentary evidence, insisting that the explanation that most of the alleged beneficiaries do not own mobile phones, watch television or use social media as inadequate and incapable of resolving the fundamental questions surrounding the reported expenditure.
HURIWA specifically tasked the Federal Government to stop the blame game and provide Nigerians with the evidence behind the ₦600 billion cash-transfer claim.
A statement by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator of HURIWA stated that the central issue is not whether poor Nigerians have access to smartphones or social media, but the evidence of the records to prove that more than 10 million households actually received the reported ₦600 billion?
HURIWA therefore demanded the Federal Government to publish a comprehensive and independently verifiable breakdown of the programme, including the number of beneficiaries in each state and local government, the criteria used for their selection, the amounts paid, dates of payment and the channels through which the funds were transferred.
The organization particularly expressed concerned over the conflicting accounts emerging from different parts of the country, stating that while officials in some states confirmed beneficiaries of various cash-transfer programmes, while investigations also produced accounts from states where residents and even some government officials said they could not identify beneficiaries or establish clear records of the reported payments.
It stressed that the contradiction cannot simply be wished away, adding that the Federal Government must distinguish between the different social intervention programmes operated under successive administrations and provide Nigerians with a consolidated account of what was actually disbursed under the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer Programme.
HURIWA further said that it found it curious that the government would invoke the supposed absence of mobile phones and social media among beneficiaries when Nigeria has an extensive telecommunications network and when the cash-transfer programme itself reportedly relies on identifiable beneficiary databases, bank accounts, NIN and BVN verification and electronic payment channels.
In the words of HURIWA; “If these systems were used, then there should be an auditable trail. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office, relevant state agencies and other institutions involved in the programme should come clean on the reported ₦600 billion expenditure.
“The government should tell Nigerians how many households were actually paid? How much was paid to each household? How many beneficiaries were captured in each state and local government? What was the source and composition of the beneficiary register and How were the payments verified? What independent mechanism was used to prevent duplication, diversion and fraudulent claims?” it demanded.
HURIWA further stressed that these are legitimate accountability questions concerning public funds and should therefore not be dismissed as political attacks.
It explained that while it is not alleging that every beneficiary reported by government is fictitious, it however, stated that where public expenditure of such magnitude is involved, government has a constitutional and moral responsibility to provide evidence capable of independent verification.
HURIWA therefore called for the publication of beneficiary database, payment records and state-by-state expenditure breakdown, with sensitive personal information protected.
It also called on the National Assembly and relevant anti-corruption and public accountability institutions to examine the reported expenditure and establish whether the amount claimed by government corresponds with verifiable payments to legitimate beneficiaries.
According to HURIWA; “Poverty cannot be used as a shield against transparency. The poorest Nigerians deserve social protection, but they also deserve a government whose intervention programmes can be independently accounted for”.
