The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) has raised concerns over the inability to verify whether N33.75 billion disbursed as cash transfers to 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 ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

The report, obtained by TheCable on Saturday, was submitted to the Clerk of the National Assembly by the Auditor-General for the Federation on July 17, 2026.

It reviewed transactions at the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Abuja, for the 2023 financial year and raised eight audit queries involving billions of naira, while identifying significant weaknesses in the office’s internal control system.

One of the findings, titled “Cash Transfers from NCTO to Beneficiaries Without Evidence of Receipt – N33.751bn,” stated that electronic transfers totalling N33.751 billion were made to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states.

According to the report, the beneficiaries were reportedly mined from the National Social Register (NSR) and enrolled on the National Beneficiary Register (NBR).

However, auditors said the payment vouchers for the transfers did not contain complete details of the beneficiaries.

They also noted that a Remita statement showing the beneficiaries who were paid against those listed on the NSR and NBR was not made available for audit.

The auditors said the absence of the statement hindered authentication of the payments and made it difficult to establish whether the funds were received by genuine beneficiaries.

The report further stated that attempts to obtain access to the Remita statement were “obstructed and denied” by accounts staff of the NCTO, thereby frustrating the audit process.

The auditors attributed the anomalies to weaknesses in the NCTO’s internal control system, warning that such lapses could result in loss of public funds and payments to ineligible or fictitious persons.

They added that the findings remained valid because management had failed to respond to the issues raised or implement the recommended corrective measures.

The auditors recommended that the manager responsible for the national programme be directed to account for the N33.75 billion before the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly and provide evidence that the funds were transferred to the intended beneficiaries.

They further recommended that the money be recovered and paid into the national treasury if it could not be properly accounted for.

The auditors also requested that evidence confirming receipt of the funds by beneficiaries be submitted to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.

Where the required evidence is not provided, they recommended the application of sanctions for irregular payments under Paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations (2009).

The audit findings, according to the report, contravened provisions of the Financial Regulations (FR) 2009, which require payments to be made only to persons named in payment vouchers or their authorised representatives.

The auditors specifically cited Paragraph 613, which requires paying officers to ensure that recipients of public funds are duly authorised and, where necessary, provide proof of identity.

They also cited Paragraph 603(i), which requires payment vouchers to contain full particulars of each service and be supported by relevant documents sufficient to facilitate verification of the payments.