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...probe unremitted operating surplus, questions use of statutory funds belonging to UBEC, NASENI and others

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to provide a comprehensive account of unremitted operating surplus 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 demanded explanations over allegations that the OAGF withdrew billions of naira from the accounts of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), to finance government obligations.

The directives were issued on Monday when the Accountant General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, appeared before the committee during an investigative hearing at the National Assembly.

Raising concerns during the session, committee member Rep. Gboyega Nasir Isiaka said poor remittance of government revenues remained one of Nigeria’s major fiscal challenges.

“I mean, considering our GDP, you know, ours is one of the lowest on 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.

“From the totality of what we are seeing, there appears to still be some backlog of remittances. Can you give some instances or some figures around 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?

“Like CBN, SEC, NIMASA and some of those. Because it’s not just enough for us to say 80 per cent of their surpluses. What exactly is the surplus they are giving us? These are the asset base that they have in their hand. So I think it’s important for us to have a look at that, in addition to some of the revenues that they are meant to have paid but have not paid for,” Isiaka said.

In response, the Director of Revenue and Investment at the OAGF, Makinde Mogaji, disclosed that the CBN had yet to remit an alleged N5.3 trillion operating surplus to the Federal Government despite repeated recovery efforts.

“Early last year, they were owing the Federal Government N5.3 trillion for their operating surplus and despite all the effort of the PAC, N5.3 trillion CBN, and despite the effort of the PAC to recover the money, they refused to pay. 70 per cent of that money should be paid and behold, CBN refused to pay. That is CBN. And that is just one of our huge sources of revenue. Agency like FAAN, we have record of ₦473 billion paid,” Mogaji said.

On allegations that the OAGF had been making automatic deductions from the accounts of MDAs, the Accountant General defended the practice, describing it as a mechanism designed to enable government meet pressing financial obligations.

He added that some agencies later sought presidential intervention to reverse the deductions.

“That was an ingenious way of taking in advance what is due to government last year, and that was how we were able to rake in a lot of revenue last year.

“Let me add to that. Because when we initiated that move and were able to rake in a lot of revenue, some of these agencies went behind to seek a reversal. So, we’ve been battling with that issue because some went back to Mr President and said that was too much this and that. Some got total cancellation. Some got reduced advance.

“So we have been battling with that and that’s why we were not able to return like what we had last year to that level. And you have instances also where agencies like NNPC refused totally to cooperate… to the extent that they had to be walked out because of their non-compliance and cooperation. NNPC has agreed to some of those liabilities, some they said no they do not agree, so all of that is still being handled by a post-mortem committee,” Ogunjimi said.

Providing further clarification, Mogaji said the automatic deduction mechanism was intended to recover operating surplus in advance, subject to reconciliation.

“Yes, the auto deduction that was established last year has been working perfectly. Like AGF said, the auto deduction is an advance way. It’s a mechanism designed to pick the operating surplus in advance from these agencies, and at the end of the day, they will compute OPS and see whether they have excess or they have been over-deducted. We have some figures here, but they can’t be taken to be the final lists”, he added.

Committee Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam, however, questioned the legality of withdrawing statutory allocations from agencies established to perform specific national responsibilities.
He cited complaints received from UBEC and several other government institutions.

“There is an ongoing investigation involving UBEC and other agencies. And in the course of the investigation, the UBEC claimed that, for example, there was a shortfall. There was an authority to incur expenditure of November 2025 which was not released by the Accountant General, ₦16 billion from the Commission’s account. Another ₦15 billion from the Commission’s account which has not been refunded.

“And we actually wondered why these deductions from statutory payments of some of these very critical institutions of government. Not only UBEC. We had the same thing with NASENI. NASENI, was it ₦70 billion or more than that? We have different agencies and they complained. So, what is the justification, Accountant General?” Salam asked.

In response, Ogunjimi maintained that the withdrawals were temporary and carried out only after assessing whether the affected funds had remained idle.

“We have instances where, at a point in time, we have the need to take monies from some of these agencies to be able to meet critical financial obligations of government. Yes, it’s like a borrow, a loan. We are going to refund it and we have been refunding for those agencies. It’s just to meet those critical obligations.

“Sir, first and foremost, Accountant General cannot just sit and begin to pick money from accounts of these agencies. We first analyse, because the directives come from the Honourable Minister. We first analyse how long these funds have remained in the account unutilised. So, if you have this money like six months and government needs funding.

“So we say, let’s take it and then we refund your money when you need it. Like TETFund for instance, we took over ₦300 billion and we have refunded the whole to them. So, if you come back and tell us that we need this money now, can you give us that money, then we process and give it back to them”, he said.

The explanation failed to convince the committee chairman, who insisted that the deductions had undermined the statutory responsibilities of several agencies.

“So, which ones have you refunded? UBEC is crying, NASENI is crying, NBC too is crying. We have quite a number of them. We have more than six that are under various investigations here and that is their major claim, that they don’t know how to approach this matter. The Accountant General just gets into their accounts so they cannot have the money to use for the primary purpose they were meant for.

“Like the one in UBEC, you will agree with me that the problem we have today, including banditry and what have you, is also as a result of our neglect of basic education, especially in the northern part of the country. We have about 13.5 million out-of-school children. UBEC is to construct schools, provide infrastructure and instructional materials. They can’t do that because the fund that is statutorily meant for them is being taken for other purposes,” Salam said.

The committee directed the OAGF to furnish it with detailed records of outstanding operating surplus owed by government agencies, as well as evidence of deductions and refunds made to affected MDAs, as the investigation continues.

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The Federal Government has introduced a new operational framework aimed at strengthening the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former terrorists, bandits and other individuals who have renounced armed violence across Nigeria.

The initiative, unveiled through the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), is designed to improve coordination among government agencies and ensure a more structured approach to rehabilitating ex-combatants while promoting lasting peace in conflict-affected communities.

The National Coordinator of the NCTC, Major General Adamu Laka, disclosed this on Monday during the National Validation Workshop on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration held in Abuja.

According to Laka, the newly developed procedures will guide the implementation of the DDR programme at the federal level and in the pilot states of Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara.

He explained that the initiative forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to tackle insecurity through a combination of military operations and non-military interventions aimed at addressing the root causes of violent extremism.

Laka said the Standard Operating Procedures were developed to ensure that the government’s reintegration programme is implemented in a coordinated, transparent and effective manner.

He noted that the guidelines provide practical direction for ministries, security agencies, civil institutions and other organisations involved in identifying, processing, rehabilitating and reintegrating individuals who have abandoned violence.

According to him, the framework clearly outlines the responsibilities of participating institutions, promotes accountability and strengthens collaboration among stakeholders, while eliminating overlaps in responsibilities.

The NCTC coordinator observed that although Nigeria already has a National DDR Framework, there was a need for detailed operational guidelines to translate policy objectives into practical actions.

“Recognising that a policy framework alone is insufficient to guide implementation, the NCTC and its partners subsequently developed a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures to translate the strategic objectives of the National DDR Framework into practical guidance for implementing institutions,” Laka said.

He explained that the SOPs establish uniform standards for implementing the programme nationwide while clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each participating agency.

Laka disclosed that the framework was developed after extensive consultations with security agencies, government institutions, peacebuilding organisations and other relevant stakeholders.

According to him, the procedures draw from Nigeria’s previous experiences, international best practices and the country’s unique security realities.

“These Standard Operating Procedures have been developed through extensive consultations and draw upon national experiences, international best practices, and the unique realities of the Nigerian context,” he added.

He noted that the consultations considered the experiences of communities affected by terrorism and banditry as well as lessons learned from similar rehabilitation programmes in other countries.

The Federal Government selected Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara as pilot states for the implementation of the new framework due to the prolonged security challenges confronting the North-West region.

The three states have witnessed repeated attacks by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers, resulting in numerous deaths, displacement of residents and disruption of economic and social activities.

Officials said the pilot phase would enable the government to evaluate the effectiveness of the guidelines, identify implementation gaps and make necessary adjustments before extending the programme to other parts of the country.

Laka stressed that the initiative reflects the government’s belief that military operations alone cannot permanently resolve Nigeria’s security challenges.

He said effective disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes would help reduce the likelihood of former fighters returning to violent groups while also supporting reconciliation and the recovery of communities devastated by years of conflict.

The NCTC coordinator, however, emphasised that the success of the programme would depend on effective collaboration among government institutions, security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing comprehensive strategies aimed at restoring peace, enhancing public safety and rebuilding communities affected by terrorism, banditry and other forms of armed violence.

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…to challenge judgement

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has promised its members and supporters that the Court of Appeal verdict on the party’s congresses will not invalidate its primary elections or the candidates who emerged from them.

This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the judgment only relates to the election of its ward, local government and state executive committees and has no impact on the direct primaries conducted by the party.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) notes the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday in a matter relating to party congresses for the election of ward, local government and state executive committees of the party,” the statement read.

The party stressed that the ruling does not invalidate the emergence of its candidates at any level.

“We wish to assure members of the party and the general public that this judgment has no effect whatsoever on the direct primaries through which the party’s candidates have emerged at all levels,” it said.

The ADC also disclosed that it had begun the process of challenging the judgment at a higher court, insisting that it disagrees with the decision.

“The party has already commenced the process of appealing the judgment, which we respectfully disagree with and consider to be legally unsustainable,” the statement added.

The party further said it took note of the dissenting judgment delivered by the presiding justice, describing it as more consistent with its position and the law.

We also note the dissenting judgment of the presiding Justice, which, in our view, more accurately reflects the settled position of the law and the party’s position,” it stated.

The ADC appealed to its members and supporters across the country to remain calm and focused despite the court ruling.

“We urge all party members and the millions of our supporters to remain calm, confident and focused,” the statement said.

The party said it would continue to pursue its goal of offering Nigerians a credible alternative through constitutional and lawful means.

“The African Democratic Congress remains committed to the task of providing Nigerians with a credible alternative and will continue to pursue that mission in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law,” .