Audit Shows NCTO Failed to Identify Recipients of N33.75 Billion Cash Transfers

The National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) said it paid N33.75 billion to 3.29 million households across 35 states in 2023. But it could not provide full records showing who received the money.

The office’s staff also did not allow auditors to see bank statements needed to check the payments. This information comes from an analysis of the latest report by the Auditor General of the Federation. The report was reviewed by the UDEME project at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).

This issue is one of eight problems found in the NCTO in the auditor general’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in MDAs. This report covers the period from January 1 to December 31, 2023.

The eight problems add up to N76.24 billion. The NCTO did not respond to some of these audit questions. In cases where they did respond, the auditor found their answers lacking.

The auditor general said the findings would stay valid until the NCTO acted on the recommendations. The NCTO runs the conditional cash transfer part of the National Social Safety Nets Project. This is a World Bank-funded program that gives payments to poor households on the National Social Register.

The NCTO operates under the National Social Investment Programme Agency. This agency answers to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. The payments were made while Sadiya Farouk was Minister under Muhammadu Buhari and Betta Edu was Minister under Bola Tinubu in 2023.

In January 2024, President Bola Tinubu suspended the agency’s chief executive, Halima Shehu. This was due to allegations of financial mismanagement. Halima Shehu had previously been the national coordinator of the cash transfer program.

Ten days later, Mr. Tinubu suspended all four programs run by the agency for at least six weeks. He cited “operational lapses and improprieties surrounding payments to the program beneficiaries.”

Payments Without Proof of Receipt

Paragraph 613 of the Financial Regulations 2009 says payments should only be made to those named in payment vouchers or their authorized representatives. Paragraph 603(i) also says vouchers must include full details of services provided so they can be checked without needing other documents.

The NCTO reported making electronic transfers of N33.75 billion to 3.2 million households in 35 states in 2023. But the audit report says the payment vouchers did not have complete details about the beneficiaries.

The NCTO also did not provide the Remita statement needed for auditors to compare the payments with the beneficiaries on the National Social Register. This made it hard to confirm who actually got the funds.

The auditors said attempts to get access to the REMITA statement were blocked by NCTO accounts staff. This made the audit process difficult. The auditor general warned that not verifying the payments could lead to public funds being lost. It also raised the risk that people who were not eligible might have received the money.

The auditor general recommended that the National Programme Manager, Abdullahi Imam, account for the N33.75 billion. He also said this amount should be recovered and sent back to the Treasury. Evidence that the beneficiaries received the funds should be submitted to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly.

If they do not comply, there could be sanctions under paragraph 3106 of the Financial Regulations.

N36.7 Billion Paid Without Prepayment Audit

In another finding, the report noted 215 payment vouchers totaling N36.74 billion for “SS, IDA & output base” transactions in December 2023. These were paid without internal audit checks or prepayment audits.

Paragraph 1705 of the Financial Regulations says the head of internal audit in every ministry must ensure a 100 percent prepayment audit of all checked and passed vouchers.

None of the 215 vouchers had the required checks before payment. Instead, the Internal Audit Unit looked at them after the payments were made, which is against regulations.

The report said the World Bank’s 2021 Project Appraisal Document for the program’s scale-up allowed the Internal Audit Unit to conduct compliance audits without a prepayment audit system. But the auditor general said this practice went against Nigeria’s Financial Regulations. He recommended that the N36.74 billion be fully accounted for and recovered.

N4.6 Billion in Payments Without Vouchers

The auditors also found that the NCTO made 101 payments totaling N4.62 billion without presenting the necessary payment vouchers. This made it hard for auditors to check what the payments were for.

The report said this broke Section 85(2) of the Constitution, which gives the auditor general access to public account records. It also went against paragraph 601 of the Financial Regulations, which says no cheque should be raised or cash paid without a voucher.

The auditors warned that missing records could lead to misuse of public funds. They recommended that the N4.62 billion be recovered from the NCTO.

Money Sent to States for Enrolment

The auditors found 32 payments totaling N3.09 billion made to states for enrolling poor and unbanked households. The NCTO showed documents for N2.74 billion given to 34 states. But N350.18 million was unaccounted for.

The auditors said the supporting vouchers were vague and did not show how the funds were used or which activities they financed. There were no beneficiary lists, photographs of enrolment, signed attendance registers, activity reports, or names of people who got payments during the exercises.

The auditors also checked N393.71 million that nine State Cash Transfer Units said they returned to the Treasury in 2023 because they could not conduct enrolment exercises. The NCTO said this was due to “insecurity, disasters, and other factors.”

But the office did not provide proof that the refunds were credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. They also did not show evidence that the states enrolled the intended beneficiaries.

N280 million Mobilisation Paid Without Guarantees

The NCTO paid N280.42 million to payment service providers as a 30 percent advance for a “last-mile solution” for beneficiaries. But these payments were made without advance payment guarantees.

This goes against Section 71 of the Finance Act 2020, which requires guarantees for mobilization fees. The auditors found no proof that the providers were selected properly. Their contract files were missing prequalification documents, bidding records, and technical and financial evaluations.

Auditor-General Recommends Recovery of Funds

The Auditor-General called for the NCTO’s National Programme Manager to account for the questioned funds. He said the amounts should be recovered and sent back to the Treasury. Evidence of these remittances should go to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.

The report says that an officer responsible for an irregular payment has 21 days to explain the transaction before recovery actions can start. It also warns of sanctions for gross misconduct.

The report ranked the NCTO as the worst among federal agencies for making payments without supporting documents. They also failed to conduct prepayment audits and did not present paid vouchers for checks.

In March 2026, Mr. Imam, the NCTO’s programme manager, said the cash transfer initiative aimed to increase its target from 10.4 million to 15 million beneficiaries.

SERAP Sues Nigerian Government

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the federal government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. This is over the alleged diversion and irregular spending of ₦78.8 billion meant for cash-transfer and social-protection programs.

In the suit filed last week, SERAP is asking for an order to make the government account for the funds. They want proper financial oversight of programs for vulnerable households.

This action follows SERAP’s concerns about the findings involving the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the NCTO, and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO).

The group is calling for investigations into ₦76.24 billion in unaccounted expenditures at the NCTO and ₦2.55 billion at the NASSCO. They also want recovery of any misappropriated funds.

SERAP stated that not investigating the ₦78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal violates Nigeria’s obligations to protect vulnerable households’ rights.

In the suit, SERAP argues that not being accountable for public funds meant for social protection undermines the rights of millions of Nigerians. In September, SERAP urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure relevant agencies account for the funds. They specifically mentioned ₦33.751 billion in 2023 cash transfers and said beneficiary records should be made public. They also called for explanations for payments made without prepayment audits and other questionable transactions.