The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) says there is insufficient evidence to show that N33.75 billion in cash transfers meant for 3.29 million vulnerable households in 2023 reached genuine beneficiaries.
The finding is contained in the OAuGF’s 2024 annual report
on non-compliance and internal control weaknesses in ministries, departments
and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, obtained by TheCable on
Saturday.
The report was submitted to the clerk of the national
assembly by the AuGF on July 17, 2026.
The report, which reviewed transactions at the National Cash
Transfer Office (NCTO) in Abuja for the 2023 financial year, highlighted eight
audit queries involving billions of naira and identified weaknesses in the
office’s internal control system.
A section of the audit findings on page 90 of the report is
titled “CASH TRANSFERS FROM NCTO TO BENEFICIARIES WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF RECEIPT
(=#33,751,080,000.00)”.
The report said electronic transfers totalling N33.751
billion were made to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries drawn from the
national social register (NSR) and enrolled on the national beneficiary
register (NBR) across 35 states in 2023.
According to the report, “electronic transfers amounting to
N33,751,080,000.00 (Thirty-three billion, seven hundred and fifty-one million,
eighty thousand naira) were made to three million, two hundred and ninety-five
thousand, two hundred and seven (3,295,207) households/beneficiaries that have
been mined to the NSR and enrolled on the NBR in 35 states for the year 2023.”
Auditors noted that the payment vouchers for the transfers
did not contain the full details of the beneficiaries.
They added that “REMITA statement showing record of the
beneficiaries paid as against those listed on the NSR and NBR was not presented
for audit.”
The auditors said, “this hindered the authentication of the
payments and made it difficult to ascertain whether the beneficiaries who
received the funds were genuine”.
The report noted that “all efforts to obtain access to the
REMITA statement were obstructed and denied by NCTO accounts staff, thereby
frustrating the audit process”.
The auditors attributed the “anomalies” to weaknesses in the
internal control system at the NCTO, citing “loss of public funds and payments
to ineligible or fictitious persons” as identifiable risks in the transactions.
The auditors said, “since the Management failed to respond
to the issue raised, the findings remain valid until the management implements
the recommendations”.
Among other recommendations, the auditors said the manager
in charge of the national programme should be requested to account for the
N33.75 billion to the public accounts’ committees of the national assembly and
provide evidence that the cash was transferred to the beneficiaries.
The auditors also recommended that the amount be recovered
and remitted to the national treasury if it could not be accounted for.
They also stated that evidence of receipt of the funds by
the beneficiaries should be forwarded to the public accounts committee of the
national assembly.
In the event that the required evidence was not provided,
the auditors said, “sanctions relating to irregular payment specified in
paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations (2009) should apply”.
The auditors said the findings were contrary to the
provisions of the Financial Regulations (FR) 2009, which require payments to be
made only to persons named in payment vouchers or their authorised
representatives.
They cited paragraph 613 of the regulations, which requires
paying officers to satisfy themselves that the person receiving a payment is
authorised to do so and, where necessary, provide proof of identity.
The auditors also cited paragraph 603(i), which requires
vouchers to contain full particulars of each service and be supported by
relevant documents to enable the payments to be verified.
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