The Auditor-General for the Federation has flagged N33.75 billion in cash transfers made to more than 3.29 million households in 2023, saying the government could not provide sufficient evidence that the money reached genuine beneficiaries.
The audit finding is contained in the 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, which examined transactions at the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Abuja, for the 2023 financial year. The report was transmitted to the National Assembly on July 17, 2026.
According to the report, electronic transfers totalling N33.751 billion were made to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries listed on the National Social Register and enrolled on the National Beneficiary Register across 35 states.
However, auditors said they could not verify the identities of the recipients because the payment vouchers did not contain complete beneficiary details, while the records required to reconcile the payments with the official beneficiary registers were not made available.
The auditors specifically faulted the NCTO for failing to present a Remita statement showing the beneficiaries who received the funds against those listed on the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register.
“This hindered the authentication of the payments and made it difficult to ascertain whether the beneficiaries who received the funds were genuine,” the auditors said.
The audit report further disclosed that efforts to obtain the Remita records encountered resistance from officials of the cash transfer office.
“All efforts to obtain access to the REMITA statement were obstructed and denied by NCTO accounts staff, thereby frustrating the audit process,” the report stated.
The auditors consequently identified possible payments to ineligible or fictitious persons and the loss of public funds as risks arising from the weak controls surrounding the disbursements.
They also faulted the management of the NCTO for failing to respond to the audit query, saying the findings would remain valid until management implemented the recommended corrective measures.
The Auditor-General recommended that the manager responsible for the national programme be required to account for the N33.75 billion before the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly and produce evidence that the funds actually reached the intended beneficiaries.
It recommended that the money be recovered and paid into the national treasury if the NCTO could not satisfactorily account for the disbursement.
The auditors also demanded that evidence showing receipt of the funds by beneficiaries be submitted to the Public Accounts Committee.
They warned that failure to produce the required documentation should attract sanctions for irregular payments under paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations, 2009.
The audit findings, according to the report, violated provisions of the Financial Regulations governing government payments and documentation.
The auditors cited paragraph 613, which requires paying officers to establish that recipients of public funds are authorised to receive such payments and, where necessary, provide proof of identity.
They also referenced paragraph 603(i), which requires payment vouchers to contain complete particulars of the service or transaction and relevant supporting documents to facilitate verification.
The N33.75 billion cash-transfer finding formed part of eight audit queries raised against the NCTO over transactions involving billions of naira and weaknesses in its internal control system.
The broader audit report also identified other financial management lapses across federal institutions, including unsupported payments, unretired cash advances, unremitted revenues and irregular contracts.
(Daily Trust)
