The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) says it could not verify whether N33.75 billion disbursed as cash transfers to more than 3.29 million vulnerable households in 2023 actually reached genuine beneficiaries.
The finding is contained in the OAuGF’s 2024 annual report on non-compliance and internal control weaknesses in federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The report, submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly on July 17, 2026, reviewed transactions at the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) in Abuja for the 2023 financial year.
According to the audit report, electronic transfers totalling N33.751 billion were made to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries enrolled on the National Beneficiary Register across 35 states.
However, auditors said they were unable to authenticate the payments because the relevant payment vouchers did not contain complete beneficiary details.
The auditors also said the NCTO failed to provide a Remita statement showing the beneficiaries who received the funds compared with those listed on the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register.
They said access to the Remita records was repeatedly obstructed and denied by accounts staff at the NCTO, thereby frustrating the audit process.
The auditors warned that the lack of adequate verification created risks of public funds being lost or payments being made to ineligible or fictitious beneficiaries.
They attributed the discrepancies to weaknesses in the NCTO’s internal control system and said the audit findings remained valid because management had not adequately responded to the queries.
The auditors recommended that the manager responsible for the national cash transfer programme account for the N33.75 billion before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees and provide evidence that the funds reached the intended beneficiaries.
They further recommended that the money be recovered and returned to the national treasury if it could not be accounted for.
The auditors also asked that evidence of receipt by beneficiaries be submitted to the Public Accounts Committee.
Failure to provide the required evidence, they said, should attract sanctions for irregular payments under paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations 2009.
The audit report cited paragraphs 613 and 603(i) of the regulations, which require paying officers to verify recipients’ identities and ensure that payment vouchers contain sufficient details and supporting documents to facilitate proper verification.