The management of the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) has dismissed suggestions that the auditor-general’s query of the N33.75 billion disbursements in 2023 indicts the agency of fraud.
NCTO clarified in a statement on Thursday, noting that an
audit query or observation is not, by itself, a final determination that public
funds were stolen, diverted, misappropriated or lost.
The office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF)
had said there was no sufficient 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.
However, NCTO said while it respects the constitutional
responsibilities of the OAuGF, it considers it necessary to address in clear
terms the impression created by the published observation concerning the
electronic cash transfers.
NCTO said the payments were electronic cash transfers made
through the established programme payment architecture to identified and
eligible beneficiaries.
The office said its cash transfer payment process is
governed by “stringent beneficiary identification, validation, authorization
and payment controls”.
“Beneficiaries are not paid merely on the basis of names
submitted for payment. The payment process operates against beneficiary records
maintained within the programme’s beneficiary information systems and payment
records and is subject to multiple levels of verification before payment
processing,” the statement reads.
“The programme’s payment control architecture is
specifically designed to prevent payments outside the approved beneficiary
population.
“NCTO therefore strongly rejects any impression that the
N33.751 billion represents payments made to unidentified or unverifiable
persons.”
The office said beneficiary records underlying the transfers
are maintained electronically and can be subjected to data-level reconciliation
against the corresponding electronic payment records.
“Given that the programme operates at national scale and
involves millions of beneficiary records, these records are appropriately
maintained and transmitted electronically,” NCTO said.
“It would be neither practical nor necessary to print
millions of beneficiary records and physically attach them to individual
payment vouchers where the complete electronic beneficiary and payment audit
trail is available for verification.”
‘THERE IS DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE’
NCTO said it has documentary evidence demonstrating that
relevant beneficiary information was transmitted to the auditors.
“The Office has retained email correspondence establishing
that the 2023 National Beneficiary Register (NBR) beneficiary list was
transmitted to the auditors on Friday, 18 April 2025 at 11:48 a.m,” it said.
“NCTO also has documentary email evidence showing that the
2024 and 2025 NBR records were transmitted to the audit team on Tuesday, 21
April 2026 at 6:25 p.m.
“Copies of these email correspondences will accompany this
public clarification as documentary evidence of the transmission of beneficiary
records to the audit team.
“These are contemporaneous electronic records carrying
identifiable dates and times of transmission and are available for independent
verification.”
“NCTO therefore respectfully but firmly disputes any
suggestion that beneficiary records required to verify the identity of
beneficiaries were deliberately withheld from the audit exercise.”
The cash office also dismissed the auditor’s claim that the
REMITA statement was not made available, noting that the project accountant
retained email evidence demonstrating that the relevant REMITA payment report
was shared with the audit team.
“The existence of contemporaneous email evidence showing
transmission of the REMITA report provides an objective documentary basis for
establishing whether the payment information was made available during the
audit process,” it said.
NCTO argued that the fact that millions of beneficiary
records were not printed and physically attached to individual payment vouchers
could not reasonably be equated with an absence of beneficiary identification
or payment evidence where those records exist electronically and were
transmitted to the auditors.
“NCTO therefore strongly rejects any interpretation
suggesting that N33.751 billion was paid to unidentified beneficiaries or that
the Office deliberately concealed beneficiary and payment records from the
auditors,” it said.
The office said the documentary evidence available to
management demonstrates that “beneficiary records and REMITA payment
information were transmitted to the audit team, and these records remain
available for independent verification and reconciliation”.
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