NCTO Denies N33.75bn Fraud Allegations by Auditor-General

The National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) has refuted allegations made by the Auditor-General for the Federation concerning N33.75bn in electronic cash transfers, claiming insufficient evidence that the funds reached legitimate beneficiaries. In a statement released on Wednesday, the NCTO described the audit's interpretation as materially incomplete, asserting that the funds were transferred through established payment systems to beneficiaries listed in the National Beneficiary Register.

The Auditor-General's report, published on September 5, 2026, identified eight audit queries related to the NCTO's transactions for the 2023 financial year, noting that N33.751bn was electronically transferred to 3,295,207 households across 35 states. However, the auditors indicated that payment vouchers lacked complete beneficiary details.

The NCTO clarified that audit observations do not imply that funds were stolen or lost, emphasizing that such observations require management responses and supporting documentation before any conclusions on fraud can be drawn.