The Federal Government could not provide sufficient evidence to auditors that N33.75bn in cash transfers meant for 3,295,207 vulnerable households reached genuine beneficiaries, according to the Auditor-General for the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report.
The report reviewed transactions at the National Cash Transfer Office (NTCO) for the 2023 financial year and identified several concerns over payments, documentation and accountability.
Auditors Question N33.75bn Payments
According to the report, electronic transfers totalling N33.751bn were made to beneficiaries across 35 states.
However, auditors said the paid vouchers did not contain complete beneficiary details, while the Remita statement required to reconcile the payments with names on the National Social Register (NSR) and National Beneficiary Register (NBR) was not provided.
“This hindered the authentication of the payments and made it difficult to ascertain whether the beneficiaries who received the funds were genuine,” the report stated.
Access To Remita Records Denied
The Auditor-General’s report further alleged that NTCO accounts staff obstructed attempts to obtain the Remita statement needed to verify the payments.
“All efforts to obtain access to the REMITA statement were obstructed and denied by NTCO accounts staff, thereby frustrating the audit process,” the report stated.
The Auditor-General warned that the failure to authenticate the beneficiaries created a risk of loss of public funds and payments to ineligible or fictitious persons.
The report recommended that the National Programme Manager account for the N33.75bn before the National Assembly or recover and remit the funds to the Treasury.
More Payments Flagged Over Missing Records
The audit also queried N36.74bn paid through 215 vouchers without prepayment audit, warning that the funds could have been misapplied or diverted.
Another N4.616bn paid through 101 transactions lacked supporting vouchers, while N350.18m reportedly disbursed for the enrolment of unbanked beneficiaries across states remained unaccounted for.
The report also questioned N393.71m reportedly returned by nine states, saying there was no evidence that the money was credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
NTCO Failed To Respond To Audit Queries
According to the Auditor-General, NTCO management failed to respond to all eight audit issues raised in the report.
The report’s findings place the N33.75bn cash transfers, alongside other queried payments, under scrutiny over the availability of records needed to establish whether public funds were properly disbursed and accounted for.
