Nigeria Audit Flags US$184 Million in Census Contracts
NIGERIA · GOVERNANCE
Key Facts
- —The country Africa’s most populous nation last counted its people in 2006.
- —What happened Auditor-General queried over N245 billion (US$184 million) in census spending.
- —Biggest item Auditors found no delivery records for N131.56 billion (US$98.8 million) in tablets.
- —The response The commission did not answer several audit queries, Premium Times reports.
- —What it means for you Census data shape aid, investment and market-size estimates for Nigeria.
- —Still open No census date set; audit queries are not findings of guilt.
Auditors say Nigeria’s census agency paid for tablets and software it could not show were delivered or used.
Nigeria’s Auditor-General has queried more than N245 billion (about US$184 million) in contracts and payments at the National Population Commission (NPC). Premium Times, an Abuja-based investigative newspaper, published the findings on Nigeria census contracts on Thursday, 8 October.
The queried deals cover tablets, software and IT systems for a 2023 census that was postponed and has still not been held. An audit query is a formal demand for documents or explanations; it is not a finding of guilt.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has not counted its people since 2006. Investors and aid donors, including US programmes, still rely on projections to size its market and its needs.
What the Auditor-General Found
According to Premium Times, the findings sit in the Auditor-General’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance, covering the commission’s 2023 financial year. It says the report went to the National Assembly in July.
The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation is the constitutional body that audits federal spending and reports to parliament. Its website was not reachable on Thursday morning, so page references could not be checked.
The largest item is N131.56 billion (about US$98.8 million) in contracts for 800,000 handheld tablets for census enumerators. Six contractors won the orders between Thursday, 1 December 2022, and Tuesday, 2 May 2023.
The commission told auditors it had received 760,000 of the devices. Auditors found no store receipts, delivery notes, waybills or inspection reports, and say they were refused a physical inspection.
Instead, the commission relied on “handwritten entries on unofficial papers,” Premium Times reported, citing the audit. The newspaper says the commission did not answer that query.
Auditors Query Tablet Switches and a Software Payment
Auditors also say three tablet orders were switched from models cleared by the Bureau of Public Procurement to dearer ones. The Bureau is the federal regulator that must approve large government contracts.
The switches added a combined N1.447 billion (about US$1.1 million), in breach of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the audit says. One batch of 80,000 tablets rose from an approved N7.36 billion (US$5.5 million) to N7.85 billion (US$5.9 million).
A separate N4.429 billion (about US$3.3 million) contract for mobile device management software was awarded on Wednesday, 19 April 2023. Such software lets an agency track, update and lock thousands of tablets remotely.
The Buhari government postponed the census on Saturday, 29 April 2023. The contract was still paid in full on Monday, 15 May 2023, and the subscription expired unused for the census, auditors found.
Osifo Tellson Ojogun, then the commission’s director-general, told auditors the software served “normal official activities.” Auditors said they found no verifiable evidence of that use.
TheCable reported in 2023 that the federal cabinet approved the software deal, worth about N4.4 billion (US$3.3 million), on 5 April. It also approved an IT contract worth about N10.9 billion (US$8.2 million) for the census.
Local Content Rules and Two IT Contracts
The second-largest item is N96.8 billion (about US$72.7 million) in tablet orders that auditors say ignored a procurement directive. A Bureau of Public Procurement due-process report of Tuesday, 15 November 2022, barred two named firms from acting as local-content suppliers.
The commission still awarded N85.27 billion (about US$64.1 million) for 480,000 tablets and N11.57 billion (US$8.7 million) for 80,000 more. Premium Times says both went to the same company but does not name it.
Two IT contracts complete the list. One, worth N6.23 billion (about US$4.7 million), included a disaster recovery centre in Kaduna without an approved bill of quantities, auditors say.
The other, worth N4.735 billion (about US$3.6 million), went to a firm auditors say was not qualified. It gave a conditional payment guarantee and lacked registration with Cisco or the Computer Society of Nigeria, the audit says.
Premium Times reports that the commission did not answer several of these queries. Auditors blamed weak internal controls at the agency for the irregularities.
A Census Delayed Since 2006
Nigeria last held a national census in 2006, two decades ago. The United Nations recommends a count at least every ten years, because school, health and election planning depend on it.
In February 2023, a commission official said more than N400 billion (about US$300 million) was earmarked for that year’s count. He said around N100 billion (US$75 million) had already been spent, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.
The plan included about 800,000 tablets and payments to roughly 1.5 million Nigerians. Ripples Nigeria reported in March 2024 that lawmakers had opened a probe into N200 billion (US$150 million) reportedly spent on the count.
The commission’s chairman since December 2025, Aminu Yusuf, died on Friday, 28 August 2026, the News Agency of Nigeria reported. The commission’s website says a presidential census committee was inaugurated in April 2025, but lists no census date.
What It Means for US Readers
Population figures drive how donors, multinationals and investors size Nigeria’s consumer market and its aid needs. Without a census since 2006, all of them work from projections that may be far off.
For holders of Nigerian dollar bonds, the audit of Nigeria census contracts raises fresh questions about spending controls. Cisco, the California-based network equipment maker, appears only as a certification the contractor lacked.
Conversions use the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate for Wednesday, 7 October 2026, of N1,331.27 per US dollar. At the April 2023 rate of about N460, the N245 billion would have been worth about US$532 million.
That gap reflects the Nigerian currency’s loss of about two-thirds of its dollar value since mid-2023. In dollar terms, the money at stake was far larger when it was spent.
What Is Not Known
The Auditor-General’s report itself could not be opened, so its page numbers and exact submission date are unconfirmed. The details here come from Premium Times’ reading of the report.
The six queried items add up to about N245.2 billion (US$184 million), but some may overlap. The 560,000 tablets in the local-content item may be part of the 800,000-tablet order.
It is not known where the 760,000 tablets the commission reported receiving are now. Nor is it known whether any money has been recovered.
No response from the commission to the findings appears on its website. Who has led it since its chairman died in August 2026 could not be confirmed.
What Comes Next
The findings on Nigeria census contracts now go to the Public Accounts Committees of both chambers of parliament. These Senate and House committees can summon officials to testify.
Auditors want the director-general to account to the committees and the money returned to the Treasury.
They also urge sanctions under Nigeria’s Financial Regulations, and say the findings stand until the commission acts. None of this means anyone has been found guilty; that would take investigators and a court.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Nigeria’s National Population Commission?
It is the federal agency that runs the national census and registers births and deaths. Its chairman, Aminu Yusuf, died in August 2026; a successor could not be confirmed.
How much money did the audit question?
More than N245 billion, about US$184 million at the central bank rate of 7 October 2026. The largest item is N131.56 billion (US$98.8 million) for census tablets.
Does the audit prove fraud?
No. An audit query asks an agency to document or explain spending; only investigators and courts can establish wrongdoing.
When was Nigeria’s last census?
The last national census took place in 2006. A count planned for 2023 was postponed on 29 April 2023 and has not been held since.
What happens next?
The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees can summon commission officials to explain the spending. Auditors recommend recovering the money and paying it back to the Treasury.
Sources: Premium Times, on the Auditor-General’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance; Central Bank of Nigeria, official exchange rates; National Population Commission, news; News Agency of Nigeria (28 August 2026);TheCable (July 2023); Peoples Gazette, via News Agency of Nigeria (February 2023); Ripples Nigeria (March 2024) (all accessed 8 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief