The Federal Government is under fresh scrutiny over its cash-transfer programme after the Auditor-General for the Federation said officials failed to provide key records proving that ₦33.75bn paid to 3.29 million vulnerable households reached genuine beneficiaries.
The 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses said payment vouchers lacked full beneficiary details.
It added that the Remita statement needed to match recipients with the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register was not presented for audit.
The auditors further said attempts to obtain the Remita records were obstructed and denied by accounts staff of the National Cash Transfer Office, frustrating verification of the payments.
According to the report, ₦33.751bn was electronically transferred to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states in 2023.
The Auditor-General warned that the failure to authenticate the transactions created risks of payments to ineligible or fictitious beneficiaries and possible loss of public funds.
The report recommended that the National Programme Manager account for the ₦33.75bn before the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly and provide evidence that the beneficiaries received the money.
It further recommended recovery and remittance of the funds to the Treasury if they could not be satisfactorily accounted for.
The cash-transfer query was one of eight issues raised against the National Cash Transfer Office.
The audit also questioned ₦36.74bn in payments allegedly made without pre-payment audit, saying 215 payment vouchers were paid without the required internal audit checks.
Another ₦4.62bn covering 101 payments was queried after the office failed to produce the relevant vouchers for examination.
The auditors also flagged ₦350.18m in funds disbursed to state coordinators for the enrolment of unbanked beneficiaries, saying supporting documents were missing.
Similarly, ₦393.71m reportedly returned by nine State Cash Transfer Units could not be backed by evidence showing that the money was credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The report further questioned a ₦280.42m mobilisation payment to payment service providers, saying the 30 per cent advance was made without an Advance Payment Guarantee and without sufficient evidence that due process was followed in selecting the providers.
The auditors identified possible misapplication and diversion of public funds across several of the transactions.
For all eight issues, the report said management of the National Cash Transfer Office failed to respond to the audit queries.