Reps tell Accountant-General to reveal CBN, NNPC debts and probe agency fund withdrawals

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has told the Accountant-General of the Federation to provide full records of money owed to the federal government. This includes debts from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and other revenue agencies.

The committee also wants to know why the Accountant-General withdrew billions of naira from the accounts of various government agencies. This includes the Universal Basic Education Commission, without quickly refunding the money.

These orders were given on Monday during an investigation hearing that the Accountant-General, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, attended.

CBN reportedly owes ₦5.3 trillion

During the meeting, committee member Gboyega Isiaka raised concerns about government agencies not paying their required operating surpluses to the federal government. He said, "Considering our GDP, ours is one of the lowest in the continent, at about 16 per cent. Now, I know that business entities are meant to return about 80 per cent of their taxes, and others are between 20 per cent and 50 per cent."

He continued, "From the totality of what we are seeing, there appears to be some backlog of remittances still. Can you give some examples or figures on this? That is one. Two, even those business entities that are returning, as a member of the economic team, how comfortable are you with the performance of some of those entities, given their assets and all of that?"

Isiaka pointed out that poor revenue payments continue to hurt Nigeria’s financial position, even with the valuable assets held by many public institutions. He pressed for details on how well major agencies, including the CBN, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, are complying with remittance rules.

The Director of Revenue and Investment at the Accountant-General's office, Makinde Mogaji, replied that the Central Bank owes about ₦5.3 trillion in unpaid operating surplus. He added that despite the committee's efforts to recover the money, the CBN has not paid.

Mogaji explained that financial regulations require about 70 per cent of the eligible operating surplus to be paid into the federal government’s account. He mentioned that other agencies, like the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, have made significant payments. He said, "Early last year, they owed the federal government ₦5.3 trillion for their operating surplus, and despite all the effort of the PAC, ₦5.3 trillion CBN, and despite the effort of the PAC to recover the money, they refused to pay."

OAGF defends automatic deductions

The hearing also looked into the automatic deductions from the accounts of ministries and agencies. This policy was introduced to help collect government revenues more effectively.

Mr Ogunjimi defended this policy. He said it was a way to collect money owed to the government before agencies finalize their surplus calculations. He noted that this strategy increased government revenue last year but faced pushback from some agencies.

Some agencies appealed to President Bola Tinubu and got partial or full reversals of the deductions. Ogunjimi also said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has not been cooperative in the recovery process.

He stated, "So we have been battling with that, and that’s why we were not able to return to what we had last year to that level. And you also have instances where agencies like NNPC refused to cooperate entirely."

Lawmakers question withdrawals from UBEC, NASENI accounts

The focus then shifted to allegations that the Accountant-General took money from the accounts of agencies to meet government expenses. Committee Chairman Bamidele Salam mentioned complaints from UBEC, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, and others.

According to Salam, UBEC claimed that about ₦16 billion meant for spending in November 2025 was not released. An additional ₦15 billion was withdrawn from its account and has not been refunded. Similar complaints were made by NASENI and other agencies about the legality of these deductions.

Accountant-General says funds were borrowed, not seized

In response, Mr Ogunjimi admitted that money has been taken from agency accounts to help pay for urgent government needs. He insisted these were temporary arrangements, not permanent withdrawals.

He explained that the Accountant-General only accesses funds that have been unused for a long time and follows orders from the Minister of Finance. He assured that the government pays back the money when agencies need it, using the Tertiary Education Trust Fund as an example of an institution that was fully repaid.

Committee rejects justification

However, the committee did not accept his explanation. Mr Salam said agencies had repeatedly told lawmakers that deductions from their accounts made it hard for them to perform their duties.

He pointed out that UBEC, NASENI, and others had said that funds for specific projects were diverted before they could be used. He warned that taking allocations from agencies like UBEC harms Nigeria’s education system, especially the issue of millions of out-of-school children.

He emphasized that UBEC needs steady funding to build schools and provide educational materials. He said using that money for other expenses goes against what the National Assembly intended.

The committee has ordered the Accountant-General's office to provide detailed records of outstanding revenue from agencies and all transactions involving statutory funds that are under investigation.