Fresh doubts have emerged over whether billions of naira disbursed under Nigeria’s Social Investment Programme actually reached the poor, as the ongoing N33.75 billion cash transfer controversy continues to draw scrutiny.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that the funds, queried by the Auditor-General of the Federation for the 2023 fiscal year, have reignited long-standing concerns about “ghost” beneficiaries within federal poverty alleviation schemes, an issue columnist Dele Sobowale says has persisted since the programme’s creation under the Buhari administration.
According to Sobowale, defenders of the disbursement have relied on the existence of a National Beneficiary Register, but he alleged that repeated attempts to obtain verifiable beneficiary lists from the register, including for his own Lagos Island community, yielded no results under successive administrations.
He noted that two former ministers who oversaw the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, one appointed by Buhari and now reportedly at large, and another appointed and later sacked by the Tinubu administration, have both faced scrutiny over the ministry’s handling of poverty funds.
Sobowale proposed reforms including appointing a presidential Special Adviser on Audit and ensuring MDAs promptly honour National Assembly summons, arguing that stronger enforcement of financial oversight could significantly curb corruption in government agencies.
CDA News Nigeria will continue monitoring developments on the N33.75bn cash transfer probe.
Disclaimer: This is an opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the editorial position of CDA News Nigeria.
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