The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has asked Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to give a clear account of how ₦18.6 billion allocated for the National Assembly Service Commission’s office complex was spent.
SERAP is requesting the names of the companies that received the payments, along with the identities of their directors, shareholders, and registered addresses.
The organisation also raised concerns about alleged breaches of procurement laws, including the absence of a needs assessment, lack of public bidding, and no evidence of Bureau of Public Procurement approval or Federal Executive Council endorsement.
In a statement released by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said addressing the allegations would prove that the National Assembly “is acting in the public interest and not for personal gain”.
The allegations are based on findings by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation in its 2022 report published on 9 September 2025.
According to the report, over ₦11.6 billion was paid to “an unknown construction company” on 11 August 2020 for the construction of the Commission’s office complex.
The same report indicated that an additional ₦6.9 billion was later paid to the same company on 29 November 2023 to convert the building’s roof garden into office space.
“The contract was inflated by over ₦6.9 billion,” the report said, adding that the Bill of Quantity for the original ₦11.6 billion contract was not priced.
SERAP said both contracts were allegedly awarded “without any needs assessment, newspaper advertisements, bidding process, contract agreement, bidders’ quotations, and without any approval by the Federal Executive Council”.
The auditor general also warned that the entire ₦18.6 billion allocated to the project “may be missing”.
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SERAP described the situation as a serious violation of public trust and a breach of Nigeria’s constitutional and international anti-corruption obligations.
“SERAP is concerned that the money may have been misappropriated, diverted, or stolen,” the statement added, insisting that transparency is necessary to restore public trust.
It argued that the National Assembly could not continue to probe other government agencies for corruption while ignoring allegations within its own ranks.
The group gave the leadership of the National Assembly seven days to act or face legal action to compel disclosure and accountability.
It also urged that the matter be forwarded to anti-corruption agencies for full investigation, prosecution where necessary, and recovery of public funds.
SERAP said publishing the names of beneficiaries and the status of the funds would demonstrate commitment to transparency and the rule of law.
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