The National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) has rejected allegations that the Federal Government failed to provide sufficient evidence showing that N33.75 billion in electronic cash transfers reached genuine beneficiaries.
The NCTO said the interpretation of the Auditor-General’s audit query was materially incomplete, stressing that the funds were processed through established payment systems to beneficiaries listed in the National Beneficiary Register.
According to the office, the audit reviewed transactions from 2023 and raised eight queries. It said N33.751 billion was transferred to 3,295,207 households and beneficiaries across 35 states.
The Auditor-General had raised concerns that payment vouchers did not contain complete beneficiary details and that a REMITA statement was not presented. However, the NCTO said beneficiary records were maintained electronically and that relevant records had been made available to the audit team.
The office also stressed that an audit query should not be interpreted as a final finding of theft, diversion or loss of funds. It further disputed concerns over 101 transactions worth N4.62 billion, saying the audit did not provide sufficient transaction-level details to support the query.
