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By Philip Nwosu
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the leadership of the National Assembly to immediately refer allegations of the diversion, misapplication and disappearance of over N6.3 billion in constituency project funds to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and possible prosecution.
In a letter dated June 27 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 ensure that anyone found culpable is prosecuted and that all diverted or unaccounted public funds are recovered and returned to the national treasury.
SERAP also demanded the full disclosure of the identities of contractors and companies, including their shareholders and beneficial owners, that allegedly received constituency project funds but failed to execute the awarded projects.
According to the organisation, the allegations are contained in the 2022 Annual Report of the Auditor-General for the Federation, published on September 9, 2025, which documented widespread financial irregularities involving several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
SERAP described the alleged diversion of over N6.3 billion as a serious breach of public trust, the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Nigeria’s international anti-corruption obligations.
It warned that corruption in constituency projects continues to undermine economic development, weaken public institutions, erode citizens’ confidence in government and deprive Nigerians of access to essential public services.
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The organisation argued that the National Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of constituency projects, stressing that lawmakers must demonstrate leadership by investigating allegations linked to projects approved by the legislature.
SERAP gave the National Assembly seven days to commence action on its demands, warning that it would institute legal proceedings should the Senate and House leadership fail to act within the stipulated period.
The Auditor-General’s report cited by SERAP identified numerous cases of alleged payments into private bank accounts, contracts awarded without due process, payments for projects that were never executed, undocumented expenditures, inflated contract sums, procurement irregularities and failures by public institutions to account for public funds. The report recommended that the affected funds be recovered and remitted to the Federal Government’s treasury.
Among the agencies named in the report are 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).
SERAP maintained that poor and vulnerable Nigerians bear the greatest burden of corruption, noting that the diversion of public resources reduces access to healthcare, education and other essential public services while deepening poverty.
The organisation further argued that the alleged infractions violate provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act 2007, all of which require transparency, accountability and due process in the management of public resources. It therefore urged the National Assembly leadership to take urgent steps to address the allegations in the public interest.
