December 07, (THEWILL) — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, to immediately account for the allegedly missing or diverted N55.9bn allocated for the procurement of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other materials for the 2019 general elections.
SERAP also asked the commission to publish the names of contractors who reportedly received the funds, including details of their directors, shareholders and addresses. The organisation further called for the referral of the matter to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution, as well as full recovery of any diverted public funds.
In a statement on Sunday, SERAP said the allegations were contained in the latest annual report released by the Auditor-General on 9 September 2025. In a letter dated 6 December 2025 and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation stressed that INEC must operate transparently if it is to guarantee Nigerians’ right to credible elections.
“Allegations of corruption in the supply of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials directly undermine Nigerians’ right to participate in elections that are free, fair, transparent and credible,” the letter read.
SERAP noted that the Auditor-General’s 2022 audited report revealed several troubling findings. According to the report, INEC irregularly paid over N5.3bn to a contractor for the supply of smart card readers without approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement or the Federal Executive Council, and without any evidence that the items were delivered. INEC’s justification that the procurement fell under “national security” was dismissed by the Auditor-General as inconsistent with the Procurement Act.
The report also stated that INEC paid more than N4.5bn to six contractors for ballot papers and result sheets without any supporting documents, advertisement, bidding process, evidence of eligibility or the BPP’s Certificate of No Objection. In another instance, over N331m was paid to contractors under questionable circumstances, including a contract for generating sets where the receipt for payment was issued a year before the contract itself.
The Auditor-General further revealed that INEC failed to deduct more than N2.1bn in stamp duty from contractors between 2018 and 2019, and that over N630m in cash advances to INEC officials remained unretired, with some officers collecting multiple advances without clearing previous ones. The commission was also said to have awarded contracts worth over N41bn for the printing of ballot materials without due process, while several of the contractors had no relevant experience in printing.
Additionally, the report highlighted that a contract for four Toyota Land Cruisers, costing over N297m, was awarded without Federal Executive Council approval. Market surveys reportedly showed that each vehicle should not have cost more than N50m, yet the commission paid N74m per unit.
Across all the transactions, the Auditor-General repeatedly warned that the funds may have been diverted and insisted that the money be recovered and remitted to government treasury.
SERAP described the allegations as serious violations of public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anti-corruption laws and the country’s international obligations. The organisation warned that INEC’s ability to conduct credible elections would be compromised if the issues were not addressed and those responsible were not prosecuted.
SERAP requested that the commission implement its recommendations within seven days of receiving the letter. It vowed to take appropriate legal action to compel compliance if INEC fails to act.
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