Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and former Vice President, has raised serious concerns regarding the N600 billion cash transfer initiative claimed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration. In a statement released by his media team, Atiku challenged the government to provide transparency about the beneficiaries of this controversial programme.

The Tinubu administration had previously announced that its expanded cash transfer programme had reached 15 million vulnerable households across Nigeria. However, on August 26, 2026, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Bernard Doro, contradicted this claim, stating that only slightly over 10 million households had actually received assistance. This discrepancy has prompted Atiku to question the accuracy of the government's figures.

Atiku emphasized the need for the administration to clarify the situation, stating, "So where did five million households go? These are not opposition figures. They are Tinubu’s figures contradicting Tinubu’s figures." He expressed concern over the arithmetic involved in the cash transfer programme, highlighting that if 10 million households received the full payment of N75,000 each, the total expenditure would amount to approximately N750 billion. If the figure of 15 million households were accurate, the cost would exceed N1.1 trillion, yet the government claims it spent just over N600 billion.

The former Vice President further questioned the integrity of the data used to support the government's claims, asking, "How many names were merely lifted from an existing social register and presented as evidence of actual payment? A name on a social register is not a bank alert. Counting people in a database is not the same thing as proving money reached them."

Atiku's call for accountability comes at a time when many Nigerians are seeking clarity on government spending and social welfare initiatives. His demands for detailed information on the cash transfers reflect a broader concern about transparency and the effective distribution of resources meant to support vulnerable populations in the country. As the debate continues, the Tinubu administration faces mounting pressure to address these discrepancies and provide the public with a clear account of the cash transfer programme's implementation and impact.