Audit Flags ₦257.12m in Payment and Cash-Control Irregularities at Women Affairs Ministry
A review of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development’s financial records identified five payment and cash-control findings totalling ₦257,121,767.03, raising concerns about compliance with regulations governing cash advances and reimbursable expenses.
The ministry granted ₦102,819,500 in cash advances above the approved limit, contrary to Treasury Circular provisions on permissible ceilings.
It also paid ₦67,702,750 in reimbursable expenses without adequate accounting for the expenditure, contravening the Financial Regulations 2009, which require recipients to account properly for how such funds were spent.
Together, the two findings amount to ₦170,522,250 of the flagged total. The remaining ₦86,599,517.03 comprised three other findings whose specific descriptions, transactions and regulatory provisions were not included in the information reviewed. It is therefore not possible to determine from the available material whether they involved additional payment irregularities, documentation gaps, cash-management issues or other control concerns.
The findings point to weaknesses in financial controls and expenditure accountability within a ministry responsible for gender equality, women’s empowerment and social welfare programmes across Nigeria. The ministry should disclose the nature and value of each of the three unspecified findings, identify the relevant rules or procedures, explain the circumstances in which they arose and state whether corrective or recovery measures were taken.
The findings document control and accountability concerns; they do not, on their own, establish fraud, misappropriation or personal culpability by any official. Any allegation of fraud or individual responsibility would require separate evidence and due process. The issues nevertheless underscore the need for transparent accounting, regulatory compliance and effective oversight of public expenditure.