Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to constitute an independent team of experts to investigate ₦33.75 billion reportedly paid to 3.29 million vulnerable Nigerian households under the Federal Government’s cash-transfer programme.

Atiku made the declaration in a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following an audit report that raised questions over whether the funds actually reached the intended beneficiaries.

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According to Atiku, the figures expose serious concerns about the government’s intervention programme, noting that ₦33.75 billion divided among 3.29 million households amounts to approximately ₦10,258 per household.

He criticised the Bola Tinubu administration for removing the fuel subsidy and increasing taxes, tariffs, transportation and electricity costs, while the intervention meant to cushion the impact of those policies was now facing serious accountability questions.

“This is beyond a bookkeeping scandal. The intervention is insultingly small, yet even that small amount cannot be cleanly accounted for,” Atiku said.

He also questioned the varying figures released by the government regarding the number of households that benefited from its intervention programme.

Atiku noted that the administration had claimed that more than ₦600 billion had been disbursed to over 10 million households, after Nigerians were earlier told that about 15 million households were beneficiaries.

“It now appears that the Tinubu administration cannot give Nigerians a coherent account of how many households actually benefited from its intervention programme, while significant portions of the expenditure have failed to withstand independent audit scrutiny,” he said.

The former vice president said the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, was reportedly questioning ₦33.75 billion allegedly paid to 3.29 million beneficiaries.

He added that the audit also raised questions over ₦36.74 billion in payments reportedly made without pre-payment audit and another ₦4.62 billion for which payment vouchers were not produced.

Atiku commended Chira for what he described as putting his constitutional responsibility above political convenience.

“That is what institutions are supposed to do — protect the public purse, not the political comfort of those in power,” he said.

Explaining his decision to launch an independent probe, Atiku said Nigerians could not reasonably be expected to trust the same government whose expenditure was under scrutiny to investigate itself.

“My team will constitute an independent group of financial, audit, technology and public-accounting experts to interrogate the available records surrounding these cash-transfer payments,” he said.

He said the team would examine beneficiary figures, payment channels, reconciliation records, audit queries and other inconsistencies surrounding the payments.

Atiku also said the investigation would establish whether the beneficiaries actually received the funds and determine whether access to relevant records had been obstructed.

“If Remita processed these transactions, the relevant records should be available for scrutiny. If beneficiaries received the money, there should be evidence. If access to records was obstructed, Nigerians deserve to know by whom and why,” he said.

He demanded that the government publish a verifiable payment trail if the beneficiaries were genuine, while insisting that funds should be recovered if they did not reach the intended recipients.

Atiku further called for prosecution of any official found to have diverted, misapplied or misappropriated funds meant for vulnerable Nigerians.

He argued that Nigerians needed more than repeated palliative announcements, saying the government should pursue economic policies capable of improving purchasing power and reducing the daily cost of transportation, food and energy.

“Our intervention will follow production. It will support domestic refining, increase local supply, reduce the cost of energy and ensure that the benefit reaches Nigerians through lower prices,” he said.

Atiku maintained that Nigerians who had already endured higher fuel prices, food costs, electricity bills, transportation fares and taxes should not also lose funds appropriated in their names.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s lobbyist, Karl Von Batten, has deleted a social media post in which he announced that United States President Donald Trump had appointed him as a commissioner to a White House presidential commission.

The post was published on the verified X account of Von Batten’s firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., where checks now show that the post is no longer available.

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Von Batten’s firm had earlier announced that Trump appointed its managing partner as a commissioner, attracting attention in Nigeria because of Von Batten’s political activities and his links to Atiku.

However, Sunday Dare, one of President Bola Tinubu’s media aides, subsequently downplayed the significance of the appointment.

Dare said the appointment was to the Commission on Presidential Scholars, an education panel administered by the United States Department of Education.

According to the presidential aide, the commission has no responsibility for American foreign policy, national security, diplomacy or relations with Nigeria.

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The clarification came amid attention surrounding Von Batten, a Washington-based lobbyist and managing partner of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C.

The firm was hired by Atiku to strengthen his reputational standing in the United States.
Von Batten has also been actively pushing for the release of US law-enforcement records concerning alleged links between President Tinubu and drug trafficking.

The development has now taken a fresh turn following the deletion of the social media post announcing the reported Trump commission appointment.

The reason for the deletion has not been stated publicly in the information available.

A 37-year-old Nigerian woman has reportedly gone missing in Doha, Qatar, about 72 hours after arriving in the country from Lagos.

The woman travelled aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1408 on Tuesday and reportedly communicated with her brother, Jonathan Jibo, via WhatsApp shortly before the aircraft landed.

However, her family lost contact with her after she arrived in Doha.

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The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, said on Saturday that the airline had confirmed through CCTV footage that the woman arrived safely, collected her luggage and exited the airport terminal.

Achimugu said, “I have confirmed, via the airline, that CCTV shows your sister arrived safely, picked her bags, and exited the terminal.”

He added that further checks were being conducted to determine whether the woman subsequently reached the hotel she had booked before travelling.

According to Achimugu, the checks had been slowed by public holidays but were expected to establish whether she arrived at the hotel and whether she was transported there using the hotel’s pick-up vehicle.

He explained that every Qatar visa booking must be tied to a specific hotel reservation, adding that Discover Qatar would verify the hotel details and confirm whether the woman checked in.

“In some cases, passengers arrive at the hotel booked, and then leave quietly. DISCOVER QATAR will check to confirm the name of her hotel, and whether your sister did, indeed, get to the hotel,” he said.

The NCAA official also disclosed that he had informed the airline about concerns over possible human trafficking and forced labour.

He said confirmation from the hotel would help determine the next course of action.

“If she did not arrive at the hotel, a manhunt would ensue. It is easy to track people once they have arrived in Doha,” Achimugu said.

He, however, clarified that the matter was not within his official purview and that he was assisting the family.

The woman’s brother, Jibo, had earlier raised the alarm on Friday, saying it had been more than 48 hours since he last had contact with his sister.

He said she was visiting Doha for the first time and had no friends there, adding that her accommodation had been arranged and paid for months before her trip.

Jibo said the person assigned to pick her up from the airport had waited for her but could not locate her, despite being informed by the airline that she had collected her luggage.

He further disclosed that his sister had worked at Lagos airport for almost 12 years and was expected to resume work in Doha a few weeks after her arrival.

“Till now I can’t reach her phone, online, I don’t even know what went wrong,” he wrote.

He also appealed to the Nigerian Embassy in Doha and other relevant authorities to assist in tracing her.

In a further update on Saturday, Jibo said his sister’s details had been forwarded to the Nigerian President in Doha and subsequently to the Nigerian Embassy in Qatar.

He said the family was hoping to receive an update from the embassy on Monday, noting that the embassy does not operate during weekends.

The family is now awaiting the outcome of checks to establish whether the woman reached her booked hotel and what happened after she left the airport terminal.