Election Funding: SERAP Gives CBN 7 Days to Account for Alleged $6.23m, N1.63tn

Serap, a Nigerian watchdog organization, has demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Governor Olayemi Cardoso explain the allocation of $6.23 million and over N1.63 trillion in other public funds. The group gave the bank and its governor seven days to provide the requested information, threatening legal action if they fail to comply within the given timeframe.

The demands were made in a letter dated September 26, 2026, signed by Serap's Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare. The funds in question include N1.25 trillion in CBN intervention loans to state governments, N116.18 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, and N262.86 billion disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers' Programme.

Additionally, the $6.23 million is alleged to have been spent on purported election funding in the name of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Serap urges Cardoso and the CBN to disclose the beneficiaries of the intervention loans, the amounts disbursed, and the recovery measures taken. They also request details about the Anchor Borrowers' Programme disbursements, including beneficiaries, participating anchors, amounts released, fund utilization, monitoring arrangements, and recovery measures.

The organization asserts that the CBN's internal audit reveals that the money was spent based on a purported request for election funding by Buhari, and that the bank failed to provide the investigation report to the Auditor-General's audit team. Serap further notes the CBN's failure to recover N1.25 trillion intervention loans granted to various states in 2023 and the lack of submission of the bank's audited financial statements and schedules of recoveries to the audit team.