- The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to investigate the alleged diversion of ₦26.9 billion from the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).
- The request stems from a 2025 Auditor-General’s report detailing unaccounted expenditures, including ₦13.8 billion in unremitted surpluses and ₦2.8 billion in unapproved contracts.
- SERAP warned that the mismanagement of these funds directly undermines efforts to provide telecommunications access to underserved rural communities and violates fundamental human rights to information.
The federal government is under renewed pressure to account for billions of naira intended for national digital inclusion.
Eko Hot Blog reports that in a letter dated May 9, 2026, SERAP urged President Tinubu to direct Communications Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani and USPF Secretary Yomi Arowosafe to explain the whereabouts of ₦26.9 billion in public funds.
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The advocacy group insisted that the Attorney General and anti-corruption agencies must prosecute anyone found responsible for the “serious breaches of public trust” highlighted in the latest Auditor-General’s report.
The allegations paint a troubling picture of financial irregularities within the USPF.
According to the report, the fund failed to remit over ₦13.8 billion in operating surpluses and made suspicious payments for international training trips during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, a period when global travel was prohibited.
Additionally, contracts worth ₦2.8 billion were reportedly awarded without proper approval, and ₦8 million was paid to a non-existent fund manager, suggesting payments for services never rendered.
SERAP emphasized that the impact of this alleged corruption falls heaviest on millions of Nigerians in rural areas who remain excluded from the digital economy.
“Poor access to reliable internet directly affects Nigerians’ ability to exercise fundamental rights, including education and public participation,” the statement read.
The organization has given the presidency a seven-day ultimatum to initiate an investigation and recover the funds, threatening legal action to compel compliance if the government fails to act.
