The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seven days to account for over N126.46bn in electoral funds allegedly diverted, lost, mismanaged or otherwise unaccounted for.
SERAP made the demand in a letter dated September 12, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, following findings contained in the 2023 audited report of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
According to SERAP, the findings relate to funds appropriated for the procurement of ballot boxes, electoral devices and materials, sensitive materials and result sheets, vehicles, accreditation devices, audit and consultancy services, digital archiving and other goods and services required for elections.
The organisation said the Auditor-General’s findings, published on August 7, 2026, covered various periods between January and December 2022 and, in some cases, extended to December 31, 2023.
SERAP specifically cited an alleged irregular payment of N112.16bn by INEC for ballot boxes, electoral devices, items and materials without competitive bidding or a Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Certificate of No Objection.
It said the Auditor-General reported that there was no evidence that the items were procured and raised concerns that the funds may have been diverted, recommending their recovery.
The organisation also cited N1.06bn allegedly paid for Toyota Prado TXL 2021 models without advertisement, competitive bidding, bid evaluation or a BPP Certificate of No Objection.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General further identified N3.14bn paid to four contractors for ballot guides, sensitive materials and result sheets before the contracts were awarded, as well as N9.25bn paid for 22 similar contracts which were allegedly split to circumvent procurement procedures.
Other payments cited by SERAP included N129.38m to 19 accounting firms for financial audit services without evidence of utilisation, N504.49m for accreditation devices allegedly procured without due process, and N235.10m paid to unqualified contractors for sleeping mats and digital archiving.
SERAP urged INEC and Professor Joash Amupitan to provide details of the payments, beneficiaries, contracts and procurement processes, as well as evidence showing delivery, utilisation and the current status of the goods, services and electoral assets involved.
It also called on INEC to refer the alleged financial misconduct and procurement violations to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation, prosecution and recovery where appropriate.
The organisation further urged INEC to identify public officials, contractors, companies, suppliers and consultants responsible for the transactions and take steps to recover any funds established to have been unlawfully or irregularly paid, lost or diverted.
SERAP said electoral resources were public funds and that INEC must be able to account for how they were spent and demonstrate that they served the purposes for which they were appropriated.
The organisation warned that failure to respond within seven days would lead it to take “all appropriate legal actions” to compel INEC to comply with its demands in the public interest.
It also urged INEC to preserve all electoral equipment, materials and other public assets covered by the Auditor-General’s findings pending reconciliation and any resulting investigations.
SERAP said any investigation by the EFCC and ICPC should cover contractors, companies, suppliers and consultants who received the funds, as well as officials who authorised, processed, facilitated or benefited from the transactions.
