Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Federal Government to account for more than ₦600 billion reportedly spent on its cash transfer programme for vulnerable households.

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Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, also questioned discrepancies in the number of beneficiaries announced by government officials. In a statement issued by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, he noted that the Presidency claimed on July 16 and August 2, 2026, that expanded cash transfers had reached 15 million vulnerable households, while the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, later said on August 26 that the programme had reached only “slightly over 10 million households.”

Atiku said the conflicting figures raised questions about the actual amount disbursed under the programme. “So where did five million households go? These are not opposition figures. They are Tinubu’s figures contradicting Tinubu’s figures,” he said.

He demanded that the government publish verified records of beneficiaries, payment tranches, state-by-state disbursements, failed transactions, reversals and an independent audit to establish that the funds actually reached vulnerable Nigerians.

“A name on a social register is not a bank alert. Counting people in a database is not the same thing as proving money reached them,” Atiku said, insisting that there must be a transparent trail for every naira reportedly spent under the programme.

His comments followed the disclosure by Minister Bernard Doro that the Federal Government had spent over ₦600 billion on cash transfers since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.