The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of turning the Federal Government’s Social Intervention Programme into a scheme that benefits officials instead of poor Nigerians.
The opposition party made the allegation on Monday, September 7, 2026, through a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, following a report by the Auditor-General of the Federation on cash transfers made under the programme.
The ADC said the discovery that N33.75 billion in cash transfers reportedly meant for 3.29 million households could not be traced to verified beneficiaries raised serious concerns about the management of social intervention funds.
The party argued that the development supported concerns that have been raised over the handling of government programmes meant to provide assistance to vulnerable Nigerians.
The ADC also referred to earlier controversies surrounding the social intervention programme since the beginning of the Tinubu administration.
It recalled that N585 million was reportedly transferred to a private account linked to the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, an incident that later led to her suspension.
The party also alleged that about N44 billion became unaccounted for during the tenure of Halima Shehu as the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programme Agency.
According to the ADC, the latest finding involving N33.75 billion adds to a series of financial concerns surrounding the management of social investment programmes.
The party said the disputed funds were part of a larger N78 billion intervention fund and argued that the repeated financial controversies showed that stronger controls were needed to protect money meant for Nigerians facing hardship.
The opposition party further criticised the Federal Government for announcing a larger social intervention package valued at $1 billion despite what it described as unresolved accountability issues from previous programmes.
The ADC said the government should first ensure that existing intervention funds are properly managed, beneficiaries can be identified and payments can be independently verified before expanding the programme.
The party maintained that social intervention funds are intended to support poor and vulnerable citizens and should not be exposed to practices that could divert public money away from those they were meant to assist.
It called on the Federal Government to provide clearer information on the missing or unverifiable funds and strengthen its monitoring and accountability systems for future social intervention programmes.