The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has rejected the explanation by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, concerning the Federal Government’s reported disbursement of more than ₦600 billion to over 10 million vulnerable households through its conditional cash transfer programme.

Yilwatda had said that many beneficiaries of the programme lacked mobile phones, television sets and access to social media, making it difficult for them to participate in public discussions about government policies.

The APC chairman made the remarks on Saturday, September 26, 2026, while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the party’s National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State.

He said the Federal Government had provided ₦75,000 to each beneficiary under the programme, which was funded partly from savings following the removal of the petrol subsidy.

However, HURIWA, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, described the explanation as inadequate, insisting that the government must provide documentary evidence to substantiate its expenditure claims.

The rights group argued that the central issue was not whether beneficiaries had access to mobile phones or social media, but whether the government could produce verifiable records showing that the reported funds had reached the intended recipients.

HURIWA called on the Federal Government to publish a comprehensive breakdown of the programme, including the number of beneficiaries in each state and local government area, the criteria for their selection, the amounts paid, payment dates and the channels used for disbursement.

The association said the APC chairman’s explanation could not replace the documentary evidence required to establish how public funds had been spent.

The rights group expressed concern over what it described as conflicting accounts from different parts of the country regarding the cash transfer programme.

According to HURIWA, while officials in some states have confirmed the existence of beneficiaries under various cash transfer initiatives, reports from other areas have raised questions about whether residents received the payments and whether clear records were available.

The association said the discrepancies warranted a detailed explanation from the government, particularly given the scale of the reported expenditure.

It also urged the government to distinguish between social intervention programmes introduced under successive administrations and provide a consolidated account of the funds disbursed specifically under the Renewed Hope Conditional Cash Transfer Programme.

HURIWA maintained that the absence of mobile phones or social media access among beneficiaries did not remove the government’s responsibility to account for public spending.

It argued that the programme’s reported use of beneficiary databases and identity verification systems should make it possible to establish an auditable record of payments.

The Federal Government announced in August that it had disbursed more than ₦600 billion in cash transfers over three years, reaching slightly more than 10 million households.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, disclosed the figures during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on August 26, 2026. He said the programme was intended to support vulnerable Nigerians.

The National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), which administers the government’s conditional cash transfer programme, also publishes beneficiary figures on its website.

Its dashboard lists 10,437,579 households as having received the first ₦25,000 payment, 8,528,077 as having received the second payment and 7,741,918 as having received the third payment.

These figures provide information on the programme’s reported reach, but they do not, by themselves, establish that every household received all the payments or independently verify the total expenditure claimed by the government.

HURIWA called on the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office, relevant state agencies and other institutions involved in the programme to publish detailed payment records.

It specifically asked the government to disclose how many households were actually paid, how much each received, how beneficiaries were selected and what mechanisms were used to prevent duplicate registrations, diversion of funds and fraudulent claims.

HURIWA said the government should publish an anonymised beneficiary database and payment records, alongside a state-by-state breakdown of expenditure, while protecting beneficiaries’ sensitive personal information.

The association also called on the National Assembly and relevant anti-corruption and public accountability institutions to examine the reported expenditure and establish whether the amount announced by the government corresponds with verifiable payments to eligible beneficiaries.

It stressed that its demand for transparency should not be interpreted as an allegation that all reported beneficiaries were fictitious.

Rather, the group said, public expenditure of such magnitude required evidence that could be independently examined.

HURIWA maintained that the government should respond to legitimate questions about the programme instead of dismissing criticism as politically motivated.

The controversy comes as the Federal Government continues to defend its social intervention programmes, including cash transfers intended to cushion the effects of economic hardship.

Yilwatda cited the cash transfer scheme, road construction and student loans as examples of the Tinubu administration’s interventions. He argued that beneficiaries’ limited access to communication platforms partly explained why they were not visible in public discussions about the programme.

HURIWA, however, said the government’s explanation did not address the central questions about the reported disbursement.

The association maintained that social protection and public accountability should go together, arguing that vulnerable Nigerians deserved both financial assistance and assurance that public funds were reaching the intended recipients.

It urged the Federal Government to publish the evidence behind its ₦600 billion cash transfer claim and provide a detailed account of the programme’s implementation.

“Poverty cannot be used as a shield against transparency,” the association said, adding that beneficiaries deserved a social protection system whose expenditure could be independently verified.

The statement was signed by Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA’s National Coordinator.