The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to order an immediate investigation into allegations that more than N128 billion in public funds are missing or were diverted from the Federal Ministry of Power and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. (NBET), Abuja.
SERAP called on the President “to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly probe the allegations that over N128 billion of public funds are missing or diverted from the Ministry of Power and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc., Abuja.”
The organisation said the allegations are contained in the latest annual report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on 9 September 2025.
According to SERAP, “Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing or diverted public funds should be fully recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
It also urged the President to “use any recovered diverted funds to fund the deficit in the 2026 budget and to ease Nigeria’s crippling debt crisis.”
In a letter dated 3 January 2026 and signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the group said: “Nigerians continue to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the power sector. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations.”
SERAP added that “tackling corruption in the power sector would go a long way in addressing the persistent breakdown of transmission lines in the country, and improving access of Nigerians to regular and uninterrupted electricity supply.”
The organisation argued that the allegations “suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation and international anticorruption obligations.”
Citing the Auditor-General’s 2022 audited report, SERAP said the Federal Ministry of Power failed to account for over N4.4 billion “transferred to Mambilla, Zungeru and Kashimbilla project accounts by the Ministry,” noting that there was “no evidence of how the funds were expended.” The Auditor-General, it said, feared “the money may have been diverted” and recommended that it be recovered and remitted to the treasury.
The Ministry was also accused of paying over N95 billion to “some contractors for various projects” without documentation or evidence that the projects existed or were executed. The Auditor-General reportedly feared the funds “may have been diverted” and called for their recovery.
SERAP further highlighted payments of over N33 million for foreign travels, allegedly made “without any approvals,” including estacode, flight tickets and visa fees for trips to the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi and the Huawei Innovation Land exhibition in Dubai. The travels, according to the Auditor-General, “were never approved by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation or the Head of Civil Service.”
Other alleged irregularities at the Ministry of Power included unaccounted expenditure of over N230 million on the GIGMIS platform and over N282 million paid as non-personal advances to staff beyond statutory thresholds, with fears in each case that the money “may have been diverted.”
SERAP also detailed extensive allegations against NBET, including the irregular award of contracts worth over N427 million without evidence of advert placements in procurement journals, transfers of over N7.6 billion into purported sub-accounts of unnamed beneficiaries without authority, and payments of over N9.3 billion to Egbin Power Plc without documents to authenticate the transactions.
Further allegations include payments of over N8 billion to unnamed beneficiaries without proper records, contracts of over N420 million awarded to eleven ineligible consultants without evidence that services were rendered, and unaccounted payments of over N45 million for contingency, logistics and security charges.
The Auditor-General also reportedly queried extra-budgetary spending of over N1.1 billion by NBET without approval from the Minister of Finance or the National Assembly, as well as payments exceeding N110 million to companies and supermarkets for staff welfare packages without supporting documents.
SERAP said the Auditor-General consistently feared that many of the payments “may have been diverted,” “misapplied,” or were “for work not done,” and repeatedly recommended that the funds be recovered and remitted to the treasury.
The organisation warned that if the recommended measures are not taken within seven days of receipt or publication of the letter, it would “consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
SERAP also cited constitutional and international obligations, including Sections 13, 15(5) and 16 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 26 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which require the government to abolish corrupt practices and impose “effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions” in cases of grand corruption.
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