The Auditor-General for the Federation has raised fresh concerns over the disbursement of ₦33.75bn to 3.29 million households under the Federal Government’s social intervention programme, saying the payments could not be fully verified due to inadequate records.
The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation disclosed this in its 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government.
The audit examined transactions carried out by the National Cash Transfer Office in Abuja during the 2023 financial year.
According to the report, a total of ₦33.751bn was electronically transferred to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states.
The beneficiaries were reportedly selected from the National Social Register and enrolled on the National Beneficiary Register.
However, auditors said the documents submitted by the agency were insufficient to establish the identities of those who actually received the funds.
The payment vouchers, according to the report, did not contain complete beneficiary details.
Auditors also said the agency failed to provide the Remita statement required to compare the recipients of the payments with names on the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register.
The report stated that attempts by auditors to obtain access to the Remita statement were obstructed and denied by accounts staff of the National Cash Transfer Office.
The development, it said, hindered the authentication of the payments and made it difficult to determine whether genuine beneficiaries received the funds.
The auditors consequently raised concerns about possible payments to fictitious or ineligible beneficiaries and the potential loss of government funds.
The Auditor-General recommended that the National Programme Manager appear before the relevant Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to explain the expenditure.
The official was also directed to provide evidence that the intended beneficiaries received the funds.
Where satisfactory evidence is not provided, the report recommended recovery of the affected funds and their remittance to the Treasury.
The report further noted that the management of the National Cash Transfer Office did not respond to the audit query.
₦36.7bn paid without pre-audit
The Auditor-General also queried ₦36.744bn paid through 215 vouchers in December 2023 without the required prepayment audit.
The transactions, identified as SS, IDA and output-based payments, were made before they were examined by the Internal Audit Unit.
The report said none of the vouchers had been pre-audited as required by existing financial regulations.
Instead, internal auditors reviewed the transactions after the payments had already been made.
According to the Auditor-General, the practice exposed public funds to possible misapplication or diversion.
The report recommended that officials account for the ₦36.74bn before the National Assembly.
₦4.6bn payments lack vouchers
Auditors also queried 101 transactions valued at ₦4.616bn after the National Cash Transfer Office failed to produce the corresponding paid vouchers.
The payments were made from the agency’s S&S/IDA Cash Book for various expenditures.
Without the vouchers, auditors said they could not properly scrutinise the transactions.
They consequently recommended that the affected funds be accounted for or recovered and returned to the Treasury.
₦350m beneficiary funds unaccounted for
The audit further uncovered concerns over funds released to states for the enrolment of beneficiaries without bank accounts.
The report said 32 payments totalling about ₦3.09bn were made for the exercise.
Although documents covering ₦2.74bn disbursed to 34 states were presented for examination, auditors said ₦350.18m could not be accounted for.
The audit also identified gaps in supporting documents for some of the expenditure.
Missing documents included beneficiary lists, attendance registers, photographs, enrolment reports and acknowledgements from recipients.
The Auditor-General recommended recovery of the ₦350.18m if officials failed to satisfactorily account for the money.
₦393.7m refunds not verified
The report also questioned ₦393.71m reportedly returned by nine State Cash Transfer Units after planned enrolment exercises were not conducted.
The National Cash Transfer Office reportedly attributed the failure to insecurity, disasters and other circumstances.
The agency said the unused funds were subsequently returned to the Treasury in 2023.
However, auditors said no evidence was provided to confirm that the money was credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
They said Remita inflow statements and relevant payment slips needed to verify the refunds were unavailable.
The audit also found no evidence that the affected enrolment exercises were later conducted.
₦280m mobilisation fees questioned
The Auditor-General further queried ₦280.42m paid as mobilisation fees to Payment Service Providers contracted to facilitate transfers to beneficiaries.
The payment represented a 30 per cent advance, but auditors said it was released without an Advance Payment Guarantee.
The procurement process used to engage the companies also came under scrutiny.
According to the report, the contractors’ files contained no evidence of pre-qualification, bidding or technical and financial evaluation.
Auditors said the failure to provide the records raised concerns about compliance with procurement regulations.
The report warned of the risk of paying for unexecuted jobs and recommended recovery of the ₦280.42m.
₦89.5m goods missing from store records
Auditors also discovered that goods worth ₦89.51m purchased by the agency were not recorded in its store ledger.
The relevant payment vouchers lacked Store Receipt Vouchers and Store Issue Vouchers required to track the movement of the items.
The auditors further found that the agency’s store ledger had not been updated since 2020.
₦17.4m diesel purchases faulted
The final finding concerned ₦17.42m spent on diesel through cash advances issued to staff.
Auditors faulted the arrangement, noting that purchases above the ₦200,000 procurement threshold should have gone through the appropriate contract process.
The report added that the diesel purchased could not be physically sighted or traced to the agency’s stores.
The procurement method, auditors estimated, also resulted in the Federal Government losing about ₦2.18m in Value Added Tax and Withholding Tax.
Auditor-General demands explanations
Across the eight findings, the Auditor-General said the management of the National Cash Transfer Office failed to respond to the audit queries.
The report consequently called for explanations and supporting documents for the questioned transactions.
It further recommended the recovery of funds and their return to the Federal Government’s Treasury where officials are unable to satisfactorily account for the expenditure.
The findings highlight significant weaknesses in beneficiary verification, financial documentation, internal controls, procurement and accountability within the National Cash Transfer Office during the period under review.
