SERAP gives Akpabio, Abbas 7-day ultimatum over alleged ₦6.3bn Constituency funds diversion

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the leadership of the National Assembly to immediately order an investigation into allegations that more than ₦6.3 billion earmarked for constituency projects was diverted, misapplied or remains unaccounted for, warning that it will initiate legal action if no concrete steps are taken within seven days.

In a letter dated June 27, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the anti-corruption organisation urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to refer the allegations contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2022 annual report to relevant anti-corruption agencies for investigation and possible prosecution.

SERAP also demanded the recovery of all constituency project funds found to have been diverted and their remittance into the public treasury.

It further called for the publication of the identities of contractors, their shareholders and beneficial owners who received public funds but allegedly failed to execute the approved projects.

According to the organisation, the allegations reveal widespread financial irregularities across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Environmental Health Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, the Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).

The Auditor-General’s report reportedly uncovered numerous cases involving payments into private bank accounts, contracts awarded without due process, payments for projects that were never executed, undocumented expenditures, procurement irregularities and inflated contract sums running into billions of naira.

Among the findings cited by SERAP are allegations that EHORECON paid over ₦22.9 million into private accounts of staff members without evidence of how the funds were utilised.

The Council was also accused of awarding hundreds of millions of naira in consultancy, training and constituency project contracts without proper documentation, while several projects, including modern abattoirs and sanitation initiatives, were allegedly never executed despite full payment.

Similar allegations were highlighted against the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, which allegedly paid contractors hundreds of millions of naira for youth empowerment, agricultural training and other constituency projects without adequate procurement records or evidence that the programmes were implemented.

The Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, was also accused of making questionable mobilisation payments, awarding contracts to unqualified firms and paying for projects that were either abandoned or never commenced.

SERAP argued that the alleged misconduct undermines public confidence in governance, weakens service delivery and worsens poverty by depriving Nigerians of resources meant for development projects.

The organisation stressed that the National Assembly must demonstrate leadership in tackling corruption within constituency projects if it hopes to effectively exercise oversight over government agencies.

The rights group maintained that the alleged infractions violate provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Public Procurement Act, insisting that transparency and accountability in the management of public funds remain essential to restoring confidence in public institutions.

It warned that failure by the National Assembly leadership to act within seven days would leave it with no option but to pursue legal remedies in the public interest.