… Demands names of beneficiaries, recovery details
…Wants probe report on payment allegedly linked to Buhari made public
Daud Olatunji
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has given the Central Bank of Nigeria and its Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, seven days to account for $6.23m allegedly spent as election funding and more than N1.63tn in other public funds flagged in the 2023 report of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
SERAP, in a letter dated September 26, 2026, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the CBN must provide explanations or face what it described as “appropriate legal action.”
The organisation based its demand on findings contained in Volume II of the Auditor-General’s 2023 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026. The findings reportedly cover transactions and activities between January and December 2023.
The funds under scrutiny include N1.252tn in unrecovered CBN intervention loans to state governments, N116.18bn in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, N262.86bn disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and $6.23m linked to an alleged election-funding request purportedly made in the name of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
On the alleged election funding, SERAP said the Auditor-General reported that the CBN’s internal audit indicated that $6.23m was spent following a purported request for election funding by Buhari.
It, however, said the CBN failed to make its internal investigation report on the alleged transaction available to the Auditor-General’s audit team for scrutiny and confirmation.
SERAP therefore demanded that Cardoso and the apex bank publish the findings of the internal investigation, disclose measures taken to recover the money and identify those responsible if wrongdoing is established.
The group also demanded an account of the N1.252tn intervention loans granted to various state governments, including the identities of beneficiaries, amounts disbursed and measures taken to recover the outstanding funds.
According to SERAP’s account of the Auditor-General’s findings, the audit report raised concerns that the intervention funds could have been diverted to private purposes and recommended their recovery and remittance to the treasury.
The organisation further asked the CBN to explain the N116.18bn in loans granted to distressed and liquidated banks and provide details of recoveries and outstanding balances.
It also demanded full disclosure of the N262.86bn disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, including the names and number of beneficiaries and participating “Anchors”, amounts received, utilisation, monitoring arrangements and recovery measures.
The Auditor-General reportedly faulted the CBN for failing to provide the list and number of beneficiaries of the programme and assess its impact, while expressing concern that the funds remaining with some “Anchors” could undermine the programme’s food-security objectives.
SERAP urged the CBN to conduct or support an independent forensic reconciliation of the funds identified in the Auditor-General’s report and preserve all records relating to the transactions and investigations.
It also called for suspected criminal conduct to be referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and other relevant authorities.
SERAP said, “The accountability of public institutions, including the CBN, is a crucial pillar of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy,” adding that the scale of the findings required urgent, independent and transparent action.
The organisation argued that the CBN’s institutional independence did not exempt it from constitutional audit, statutory accounting requirements and public financial oversight.
It further urged the apex bank to identify persons or entities that received or benefited from the funds, explain the basis for the transactions and disclose steps taken to investigate, reconcile and recover any money found to have been improperly paid or lost.
