SERAP Issues 7-Day Ultimatum Over ₦6.3bn Constituency Funds

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has officially issued a strict 7-day ultimatum to the leadership of the National Assembly. In a strongly worded letter signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the anti-corruption watchdog called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to immediately hand over deep-seated allegations of financial mismanagement to anti-corruption agencies.  

The core of the issue involves the suspected diversion, inflation, and failure to account for more than ₦6.3 billion earmarked for vital local constituency projects.  

The Source of the Allegations

The demands are rooted directly in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2022 Annual Report. The forensic audit exposed a widespread network of public trust violations across several federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). Rather than the money funding community infrastructure, healthcare, or schools, the audit uncovered major financial irregularities.  

Breakdown of the Infractions by Agency

SERAP outlined specific, high-level examples of how the ₦6.3 billion was allegedly compromised:  

 **Federal Polytechnic, Ukana (Akwa Ibom State): Flagged for over ₦407 million paid out as mobilization fees to contractors completely lacking supporting documentation. An additional ₦399 million was funneled to unqualified contractors, while solar power and streetlight contracts were inflated by over ₦192 million.  

 National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP): Accused of awarding ₦21.8 million in contracts in direct violation of basic procurement rules, spending ₦176.8 million on undocumented logistics and consultancy, and paying out ₦94 million for projects that were never executed.  

 Environmental Health Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON): Found to have bypassed corporate accounting by paying ₦22.9 million directly into the private bank accounts of specific staff members with no evidence of utilization.  

 National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS): Failed to submit its mandatory audited financial statements spanning a full decade (2012 to 2022), completely failed to remit over ₦15 million in stamp duties, and made unauthorized withdrawals from the treasury.  

 Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom: Disbursed hundreds of millions for youth empowerment, vocational training, and infrastructure with zero proof of compliance or matching transaction documents.