How Did You Transfer N750bn To People Without Phones’ — Atiku Tackles APC Chairman

 How Did You Transfer N750bn To People Without Phones’ — Atiku Tackles APC Chairman

According to a report by The Vanguard on Thursday, October 1, 2026, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has openly challenged the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, to provide verifiable transaction records showing how over ₦750 billion was distributed to 10 million vulnerable Nigerians who do not own mobile phones.

The controversy follows statements made by the APC chairman after a three-day National Executive Council retreat in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Yilwatda revealed that beneficiaries of the Federal Government's ₦75,000 conditional cash transfer programme were largely poor citizens living without phones, television sets, or social media access.

Reacting in his Independence Day message in Abuja, Atiku questioned the transparency of the exercise, asking how the administration managed to identify, contact, and disburse cash to millions of citizens—particularly in conflict-affected areas across Borno and Yobe States—without digital trace or communication channels.

"Professor Yilwatda says many beneficiaries have no phones. So how did your government identify, contact and pay them, particularly in parts of Yobe and Borno where insecurity makes access difficult? Did officials deliver the money by hand? If so, who delivered it, and where are the receipts?" Atiku queried.

He added that if payments went into bank accounts, the government must present full transaction logs.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate further criticized the economic direction of the country, arguing that the past three years under President Bola Tinubu have plunged families into an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis.

Dismissing the President's claims that Nigeria has entered an "age of prosperity," Atiku stressed that executive speeches cannot put food on the tables of struggling citizens.