The Federal Government could not provide sufficient evidence to auditors that N33.75bn in cash transfers meant for more than 3.29 million vulnerable households reached genuine beneficiaries, the Auditor-General for the Federation has said. This was contained in the Auditor-General for the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government obtained by Saturday PUNCH on Friday.

The report, which reviewed transactions at the National Cash Transfer Office in Abuja for the 2023 financial year, raised eight audit queries involving billions of naira and identified weaknesses in the office’s internal control system.

According to the report, electronic transfers totalling N33.751bn were made to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries drawn from the National Social Register and enrolled on the National Beneficiary Register across 35 states in 2023. However, the auditors said the paid vouchers did not contain the full details of the beneficiaries, while the Remita statement required to reconcile those who received payments with persons listed on the NSR and NBR was not presented for examination.

The report said, “Electronic transfers amounting to N33,751,080,000.00 were made to 3,295,207 households/beneficiaries that have been mined to the NSR and enrolled on the NBR in 35 states for the year 2023.

“The paid vouchers for the payments above did not contain the full details of the beneficiaries.

“REMITA statement showing record of the beneficiaries paid as against those listed on the NSR and NBR was not presented for audit. This hindered the authentication of the payments and made it difficult to ascertain whether the beneficiaries who received the funds were genuine.”

It added that attempts by the auditors to obtain the payment records were unsuccessful.

“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 identified possible loss of public funds and payments to ineligible or fictitious persons as risks arising from the transaction.

It recommended that the National Programme Manager account to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly for the N33.75bn and provide evidence that the beneficiaries received the money.

Beyond the cash transfers, the audit queried N36.74bn in payments made without prepayment audit.

It said 215 payment vouchers relating to SS, IDA and output-based transactions in December 2023, amounting to N36.744bn, were raised and paid without internal audit checks or prepayment audit.