The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the alleged spending of N500 billion yearly on social intervention programmes.
In a statement on Sunday by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP told Buhari to immediately “set up a presidential panel of inquiry to thoroughly, impartially, effectively and transparently investigate spending on all social safety-nets and poverty alleviation programmes and projects executed between 2015 and 2022”.
It also urged him “to ensure the findings of any such investigation are widely published and suspected perpetrators of corruption, and mismanagement of public funds meant to take care of the poor should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient evidence, and any stolen public funds should be recovered”.
A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that about 133 million Nigerians are living in different categories of poverty. The report also showed that over half of the population is multidimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than with cleaner energy.
