The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has given the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seven days to explain how over N126.46 billion allocated for electoral activities was spent.
SERAP made the demand in a statement issued on Saturday, September 12, 2026, by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, following concerns raised in the 2023 audited report of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The organisation said the funds were meant for the purchase of ballot boxes, electoral equipment, sensitive election materials, result sheets and other services needed for the conduct of elections.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General’s report raised questions over several payments made by INEC and called for the affected funds to be traced and recovered where necessary.
SERAP wants INEC to provide details of the payments, including the companies and individuals that received the money, the contracts involved, the procurement processes followed and evidence showing that the goods and services were delivered and properly used.
The organisation also asked INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, to refer cases of suspected financial misconduct contained in the Auditor-General’s report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for investigation.
SERAP further called for the identification of public officials, contractors, suppliers, companies and consultants who may have been involved in any irregular transactions.
It said any money found to have been wrongly spent, diverted or paid for goods and services that were not delivered should be recovered and returned to government coffers.
Among the issues raised in the audit report was an alleged payment of more than N112.15 billion for ballot boxes, electoral devices and other materials without competitive bidding or a Certificate of No Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
The report reportedly found no evidence confirming that some of the items had been procured. It also raised concerns about contracts awarded to companies whose experience, capacity, addresses and factory locations could not be properly established.
Another transaction involved more than N1.05 billion allegedly paid for Toyota Prado TXL vehicles without the required advertisement, competitive bidding, bid evaluation or BPP approval. The Auditor-General raised concerns that the amount could have been lost or that the contracts may have been inflated.
The audit report also questioned the payment of more than N3.13 billion to four contractors for ballot guides, sensitive materials and result sheets before the contracts were formally awarded. The report called for the funds to be recovered where they could not be accounted for.
SERAP also referred to more than N9.24 billion paid under 22 contracts for similar goods and services. The organisation said the contracts were allegedly divided into smaller parts to avoid procurement rules and were awarded on the same day.
A further issue involved more than N129 million paid to 19 accounting firms for financial audit services. According to the audit findings cited by SERAP, there was no adequate evidence showing that the services had been used or that the consultants had made the required requests and expenditure reports.
SERAP said INEC should ensure that the electoral equipment and other public assets linked to the audit findings are not destroyed, transferred, disposed of or written off while the issues remain under review.
The organisation also wants any investigation by the EFCC or ICPC to cover not only INEC officials but also contractors, suppliers, companies and consultants who may have received or benefited from irregular payments.
It said the investigations should establish whether the goods and services were actually supplied, whether payments matched what was delivered and whether contracts were deliberately divided to bypass procurement requirements.
SERAP maintained that INEC, as a public institution responsible for managing the country’s electoral system, must be able to account for funds provided for elections.
The organisation said failure by INEC to respond within seven days would lead it to consider legal action to compel the commission to provide the requested information and address the issues raised in the audit report.