House Queries Accountant-General Over UBEC Funds, CBN’s ₦5.3tn Revenue Debt

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to submit comprehensive records of outstanding revenues allegedly owed to the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other revenue-generating agencies.

The committee also ordered the Accountant-General to explain allegations that billions of naira were withdrawn from the accounts of several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), without being promptly refunded.

The directives were issued on Monday during an investigative hearing attended by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi.

CBN Allegedly Owes Federal Government ₦5.3 Trillion

During the hearing, committee member Gboyega Isiaka raised concerns over what he described as the persistent failure of government-owned enterprises to remit their statutory operating surpluses to the Federal Government.

Isiaka argued that weak remittance compliance continues to undermine Nigeria's revenue base despite the enormous assets controlled by many public institutions.

He questioned the performance of key agencies, including the CBN, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and others, insisting that lawmakers require details of both the operating surpluses generated and the amounts remitted.

Responding, the Director of Revenue and Investment at the OAGF, Makinde Mogaji, disclosed that the Central Bank allegedly has an outstanding obligation of about ₦5.3 trillion in unremitted operating surplus.

According to Mogaji, repeated efforts by both the Office of the Accountant-General and the Public Accounts Committee to recover the funds have yet to yield results.

He explained that under existing financial regulations, approximately 70 per cent of eligible operating surplus should be remitted to the Federal Government.

"Early last year, they owed the Federal Government ₦5.3 trillion for their operating surplus and despite all the efforts of the Public Accounts Committee to recover the money, they refused to pay," Mogaji said.

He added that while the CBN remained indebted, other agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had made substantial remittances, including about ₦473 billion.

Accountant-General Defends Automatic Revenue Deductions

The hearing also focused on the controversial policy of automatic deductions from the accounts of ministries, departments and agencies.

Accountant-General Ogunjimi defended the policy, describing it as an advance recovery mechanism designed to collect revenues due to the Federal Government before agencies complete their final operating surplus calculations.

He said the initiative significantly increased government revenue in the previous fiscal year but also generated resistance from several agencies, some of which sought presidential intervention to reverse or reduce the deductions.

According to him, some agencies secured partial or complete reversals after appealing to President Bola Tinubu.

He also accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited of failing to fully cooperate with the recovery process, saying disagreements over outstanding liabilities remain unresolved.

"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. You also have instances where agencies like NNPC refused to cooperate entirely," Ogunjimi said.

He explained that a post-assessment committee is currently reviewing the disputed liabilities.

Supporting the Accountant-General's position, Mogaji said the automatic deduction policy remains in operation and that final reconciliations are carried out after agencies compute their actual operating surpluses to determine whether further payments or refunds are required.

Lawmakers Question Withdrawals From UBEC, NASENI Accounts

Attention later shifted to allegations that the Office of the Accountant-General withdrew statutory allocations from several agencies to finance government obligations.

Committee Chairman Bamidele Salam cited complaints received from UBEC, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and other agencies currently under investigation by the committee.

According to Salam, UBEC alleged that about ₦16 billion approved for expenditure in November 2025 was not released, while another ₦15 billion was withdrawn from its account and has yet to be refunded.

He said similar complaints had been received from NASENI and other institutions, raising questions about the legality of using funds appropriated for statutory responsibilities to meet unrelated government expenditures.

Accountant-General Says Funds Were Temporarily Borrowed

Responding to the allegations, Ogunjimi admitted that funds had occasionally been accessed from agency accounts to enable government meet urgent financial obligations.

However, he insisted the transactions amounted to temporary borrowing rather than permanent withdrawals.

According to him, the Office of the Accountant-General only accesses funds that have remained unused for extended periods and does so based on directives issued by the Minister of Finance.

He maintained that the government refunds such funds whenever the affected agencies require them, citing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) as an example of an institution whose funds had previously been fully repaid after temporary use.

The Accountant-General stressed that his office does not arbitrarily withdraw funds from agency accounts and that each transaction follows an established administrative process.

Committee Rejects Explanation

The Public Accounts Committee, however, rejected the justification.

Chairman Salam argued that agencies had consistently informed lawmakers that deductions from their accounts disrupted their statutory responsibilities.

He noted that UBEC, NASENI and other institutions complained that funds appropriated by the National Assembly for specific projects were diverted before they could be utilised.

Salam warned that withholding allocations from agencies such as UBEC directly undermines efforts to address Nigeria's education challenges, particularly the growing number of out-of-school children.

He said UBEC requires uninterrupted funding to construct schools, provide educational infrastructure and deliver learning materials, adding that diverting those funds defeats the purpose for which Parliament approved them.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee directed the Office of the Accountant-General to submit detailed records of outstanding revenue remittances by government agencies as well as documentation covering all withdrawals, refunds and outstanding balances involving statutory funds belonging to ministries, departments and agencies currently under investigation.