The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, over the alleged misappropriation of ₦18.9 billion earmarked for broadband infrastructure projects across Nigeria.
In a statement published on its website on October 19, 2026, HEDA said its petition, dated October 9 and signed by its Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, asked the anti-graft agency to investigate contracts approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on March 29, 2023, for broadband facilities at selected airports and tertiary institutions.
According to HEDA, the projects were not executed despite a stipulated four-month delivery period. The organisation urged the EFCC to establish whether the contractors received payment, trace the funds released and determine why the projects were allegedly not completed.
The petition cited an FEC memorandum valuing the airport and institutional broadband contracts at ₦18.976 billion. Ten contractors were reportedly assigned airport projects worth approximately ₦5.527 billion, while 19 contractors received institutional projects valued at about ₦12.784 billion.
HEDA also asked investigators to reconcile the ₦18.976 billion stated in the memorandum with the approximately ₦24.2 billion Pantami announced publicly in March 2023 as the total value of the broader broadband initiative.
TheCable reported on March 29, 2023, that the FEC had approved ₦24.2 billion for broadband infrastructure covering 20 airports, 43 higher institutions and six markets. Pantami said at the time that the airport and institutional projects accounted for approximately ₦18.95 billion, while the market component was valued at ₦5.25 billion.
HEDA said it had not obtained comparable details about the market projects and called for investigators to establish how the additional funds were allocated and used.
The organisation has requested a forensic audit and physical verification of the project locations to determine whether the infrastructure was delivered and whether public funds were properly utilised.
It also wants the EFCC to investigate the roles of Pantami, other government officials, contractors and technical auditors involved in the contracts.
The petition further calls for scrutiny of the procurement process, including the reported use of the direct procurement method, the selection of contractors and their beneficial ownership. HEDA wants investigators to establish whether the relevant procurement requirements were followed.
The organisation urged the commission to recover any funds found to have been misappropriated and prosecute anyone established to have committed an offence.
The contracts were approved shortly before the end of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. However, the timing of the approvals does not, on its own, establish wrongdoing by Pantami or any other individual.
The allegations remain unproven, and the petition represents HEDA’s request for an independent investigation rather than a finding of guilt.
The EFCC’s response to the petition could not be independently confirmed from the public information reviewed for this report. The commission has not been quoted as confirming that it has opened an investigation into the allegations.
The outcome of any investigation would help establish whether the projects were executed, how the funds were disbursed and whether any individual or company bears responsibility for any irregularities.
