FG can’t account for ₦33.75bn cash transfers to 3.29m Households – Auditor-General

The Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) has raised concerns over the transfer of ₦33.75 billion to more than 3.29 million households under the Federal Government’s social intervention programme, saying it could not verify whether the funds were received by genuine beneficiaries.

The finding is 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, according to Punch.

The audit examined transactions carried out by the National Cash Transfer Office (NTCO) in Abuja during the 2023 financial year and raised eight separate queries involving billions of naira.

According to the report, ₦33.751 billion was electronically transferred to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries selected from the National Social Register and enrolled on the National Beneficiary Register across 35 states.

However, auditors said the records provided by the agency were inadequate to establish the identities of the individuals who actually received the funds.

The report noted that the payment vouchers accompanying the transactions did not contain complete beneficiary details. Auditors also said the Remita statement required to reconcile the recipients with names on the National Social Register and National Beneficiary Register was not made available.

“REMITA statement showing record of the beneficiaries paid as against those listed on the NSR and NBR was not presented for audit,” the report stated.

The auditors said the absence of the document prevented them from authenticating the payments and determining whether the recipients were genuine beneficiaries.

The report further alleged that efforts to obtain access to the Remita statement were obstructed by accounts staff of the NTCO, thereby frustrating the audit process.

The Auditor-General consequently raised concerns about the possibility of payments being made to fictitious or ineligible beneficiaries and the potential loss of public funds.

The report recommended that the National Programme Manager appear before the relevant Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to account for the expenditure and provide evidence that the intended beneficiaries received the funds.

It further recommended that where satisfactory evidence could not be produced, the affected funds should be recovered and returned to the Treasury.

The report also stated that the management of the NTCO did not respond to the audit query.

Other Financial Queries

In a separate finding, auditors questioned ₦36.744 billion paid through 215 vouchers in December 2023 without undergoing the required prepayment audit.

The transactions, identified as SS, IDA and output-based payments, were reportedly processed before examination by the Internal Audit Unit.

“None of the paid vouchers were pre-audited or checked by the Internal Audit as required by extant regulations,” the report stated.

According to the Auditor-General, the procedure exposed public funds to possible misapplication or diversion. The report recommended that officials account for the expenditure before the National Assembly.

Auditors also queried 101 transactions worth ₦4.616 billion after the NTCO failed to provide the corresponding paid vouchers for examination.

The payments were made from the agency’s S&S/IDA Cash Book for various expenditures. The absence of the vouchers, according to the audit, prevented adequate scrutiny of the transactions.

The Auditor-General consequently recommended that the affected funds be properly accounted for or recovered and returned to the Treasury.

Another finding concerned funds released to states for the enrolment of beneficiaries without bank accounts.

The report said 32 payments totalling about ₦3.09 billion were made for the exercise. Although documents relating to ₦2.74 billion disbursed to 34 states were presented, auditors said they could not account for the remaining ₦350.18 million.

They also found that some of the supporting vouchers did not adequately explain how the funds were spent. Documents including beneficiary lists, attendance registers, photographs, enrolment reports and acknowledgements from recipients were reportedly missing.

The Auditor-General recommended recovery of the ₦350.18 million if officials could not satisfactorily account for the money.

The audit further examined ₦393.71 million reportedly refunded by nine State Cash Transfer Units after planned enrolment exercises could not be conducted because of insecurity, disasters and other circumstances.

Although the NTCO reportedly said the unused funds were returned to the Treasury in 2023, auditors said no evidence was presented to establish that the money was credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The report stated that Remita inflow statements and relevant payment slips needed to verify the refund were unavailable.

Auditors also said there was no evidence showing that the affected enrolment exercises were subsequently carried out.

Payment Service Providers, Stores and Diesel Purchases

The Auditor-General also queried ₦280.42 million paid as mobilisation fees to Payment Service Providers contracted to operate platforms for transferring funds to beneficiaries.

The amount represented a 30 per cent advance payment, but auditors said it was released without an Advance Payment Guarantee.

The procurement process used to engage the companies was also questioned, with auditors saying the files contained no records of pre-qualification, bidding or technical and financial evaluations to demonstrate compliance with procurement requirements.

The audit warned of the risk of paying for unexecuted services and recommended recovery of the ₦280.42 million.

In another finding, goods worth ₦89.51 million purchased by the NTCO were reportedly 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.

Auditors further noted that the agency’s store ledger had not been updated since 2020.

The final finding concerned ₦17.42 million spent on diesel through cash advances issued to members of staff.

Auditors faulted the arrangement, arguing that purchases above the ₦200,000 procurement threshold should have gone through the appropriate contract procedure.

The report also stated that the items purchased could not be physically sighted or traced to the agency’s stores.

According to the auditors, the procurement method resulted in the Federal Government losing an estimated ₦2.18 million in Value Added Tax and Withholding Tax.

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 documentation and recommended recovery of funds where officials fail to satisfactorily account for the affected expenditures.

Follow Very Nigerian WhatsApp Channel
For Verified Breaking News, Exclusive Reports, Trending Stories, And Real-time Updates.
CLICk HERE TO JOIN!