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.