News
Reps Demand Answers Over N5.3trn CBN Debt, Query OAGF on Deductions from MDAs’ Accounts
...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.
Troops of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, have rescued 31 abductees and neutralized two terrorists, including a suspected kingpin, during separate operations in Katsina and Kebbi states.
The military also arrested two suspected terrorists and recovered ammunition, a motorcycle, camouflage clothing and other items during the operations conducted on September 14 and 15, 2026.
The Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force North West, Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, September 16.
According to the statement, troops in Katsina rescued 10 kidnap victims, comprising three males and seven females, after responding to distress reports from Unguwan Daudu and Unguwan Chibauna communities in Funtua Local Government Area.
The troops reportedly launched a hot pursuit of the fleeing terrorists and engaged them in a gun battle, forcing them to abandon the victims.
Among those rescued was an infant.
The victims were subsequently taken into military custody for necessary assistance and further action.
21 Victims Rescued in Kebbi
Also on September 14, troops operating in Kebbi State responded to a distress call following the abduction of civilians from Fafala Village in Kangiwa Local Government Area.
Acting on intelligence, the troops launched a fighting patrol towards Fafala and Dandikwa, where they reportedly engaged the terrorists in a heavy exchange of gunfire.
The terrorists were forced to withdraw from the area, allowing the troops to continue their operation and rescue 21 kidnapped victims.
The rescued civilians were later reunited with their families.
Terrorist Kingpin Killed in Katsina
The following day, September 15, troops in Katsina reportedly foiled an attempted terrorist attack on communities in Matazu and Kankara local government areas.
Acting on intelligence, the troops moved towards a suspected terrorist hideout and engaged the group with superior firepower.
The military said two terrorists were killed during the encounter, including Abbah Alhassan, whom it identified as a known terrorist kingpin.
Other terrorists reportedly escaped into the surrounding bush.
Troops recovered 10 rounds of ammunition, a motorcycle, a cutlass, camouflage clothing and suspected Indian hemp from the area.
Two Suspects Arrested
In another operation on September 15, troops arrested two suspected terrorists around the Yantumaki general area of Dan Musa Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Preliminary interrogation reportedly indicated that the suspects were associated with a suspected terrorist kingpin identified as Mannori.
The suspects remain in military custody while investigations continue.
The Joint Task Force said the operations demonstrate its continued efforts to rescue kidnapped civilians, disrupt terrorist networks and restrict the movement and operational freedom of armed groups across its area of responsibility.
The task force also commended residents for providing security-related information and urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious movements and activities to the nearest security agency.
By Gloria Ikibah
The National Assembly has transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 to the Houses of Assembly of the 36 states for consideration and approval.
The transmission, carried out on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, marks the next stage in the ongoing constitutional alteration process and was undertaken pursuant to a directive from the leadership of the National Assembly.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, Esq., said the Bill was transmitted to the state legislatures in compliance with the provisions of Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Under Section 9, a bill seeking to alter the Constitution cannot be passed by either chamber of the National Assembly unless it is approved by resolutions of not less than two-thirds of the Houses of Assembly of the 36 states.
The state legislatures are therefore required to consider the proposed constitutional amendments in accordance with their respective legislative procedures and communicate their resolutions to the National Assembly after completing their deliberations.
Although the Constitution does not stipulate a specific timeframe within which state Houses of Assembly must respond to a constitutional alteration bill, the National Assembly said the state legislatures are expected to communicate their decisions within 30 days of receiving the Bill.
The National Assembly, however, stressed that the 30-day period is an administrative timeframe and not a constitutional deadline.
According to the Clerk, the timeframe is intended to promote an orderly, coordinated and timely conclusion of the constitutional amendment process while respecting the constitutional independence of the state legislatures.
What the Constitution Requires
Nigeria’s Constitution sets a deliberately high threshold for constitutional amendments because changes to the country’s supreme law require approval beyond the National Assembly alone.
In addition to the required approval by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly, Section 9 prescribes other legislative requirements depending on the particular constitutional provisions being altered.
The process generally involves the introduction and passage of the alteration Bill by the National Assembly before it is transmitted to the state legislatures for consideration. The resolutions of the state assemblies are subsequently communicated to the National Assembly for the next stage of the process.
The requirement for state-level approval gives the 36 Houses of Assembly a constitutionally recognised role in determining whether proposed amendments can proceed.
The National Assembly said it recognises this responsibility and respects the independence of the state legislatures in considering the Bill.
National Assembly Seeks Coordinated Process
In the statement, the Clerk said the transmission was intended to facilitate the orderly discharge of the state assemblies’ constitutional responsibilities rather than interfere with their legislative processes.
“The National Assembly remains committed to ensuring that the constitutional alteration process is conducted in strict compliance with the Constitution,” the statement said.
It added that the process would be guided by due process, institutional cooperation and respect for the legislative responsibilities of all tiers of the legislature.
The National Assembly will await the resolutions of the 36 state Houses of Assembly before taking the subsequent steps required under the Constitution.
The transmission of the Sixth Alteration Bill comes amid continued efforts to amend aspects of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, a process that requires cooperation between the federal and state legislatures because of the constitutional threshold for altering the nation’s supreme law.
The statement was signed by Kamoru Ogunlana, Esq., Clerk to the National Assembly.
News
REVEALED: 11 Nigerian-Born Lawyers Hit by U.S. Disciplinary Actions Over Professional Violations
At least 11 Nigerian-born lawyers practising or based in the United States have faced suspension or other disciplinary measures over alleged or established professional violations, according to disciplinary records cited in a report by The Peoples Gazette.
The cases span several years and involve different jurisdictions and regulatory bodies, including state bar authorities, U.S. immigration authorities and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The disciplinary matters range from unauthorised practice of law and failure to meet professional obligations to alleged misrepresentation, neglect of clients’ cases and mishandling of client funds.
The sanctions are not identical, and the grounds for disciplinary action vary from one case to another. Some of the lawyers have also reportedly been reinstated, while others remain suspended or have not been reinstated.
Below is a summary of the lawyers and the disciplinary actions reported against them.
1. Aloysius O. Ejimakor
Aloysius O. Ejimakor was suspended from practising law in New York for nine months in 2004 following disciplinary proceedings over alleged false claims concerning his professional qualifications.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice document, the Office of General Counsel for the Executive Office for Immigration Review commenced proceedings against him in July 2003.
The proceedings alleged that Ejimakor violated federal regulations by making false statements concerning his qualifications.
The report states that he had not been reinstated following the suspension.
2. Abiola O. Adesioye
Abiola O. Adesioye, based in the District of Columbia, was suspended in July 2025 by the Board of Immigration Appeals from practising before the board, U.S. immigration courts and the Department of Homeland Security.
The suspension followed an order issued by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on March 25, 2025.
According to the report, disciplinary counsel for the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Department of Homeland Security jointly petitioned for her immediate suspension under applicable federal regulations.
The Board of Immigration Appeals granted the petition pending the final resolution of the disciplinary proceedings.
3. Emelike Nwosuocha
Emelike Nwosuocha, who died on July 21, 2024, aged 64, faced disciplinary proceedings before his death.
According to the report, he was posthumously suspended for three years in 2024 over professional misconduct.
The disciplinary matter included an alleged failure to provide an affidavit required under an earlier suspension and failure to pay attorney fees owed to a defendant in a medical negligence lawsuit.
In 2023, Nwosuocha had reportedly received a six-month suspension after failing to respond to a disciplinary grievance.
The relevant disciplinary authorities subsequently affirmed the suspension.
4. Michael Ozulumba
Michael Ozulumba, who is based in Massachusetts, was reportedly suspended from practising before the Internal Revenue Service and the Executive Office for Immigration Review for two years.
The reported disciplinary findings involved professional misconduct, neglect of client cases and misrepresentations.
However, the supplied material contains a reference to a 2027 board decision. Since that date is still in the future as of September 16, 2026, that portion requires independent verification and has therefore not been treated here as an established past event.
5. Michael Imevbore Ojo
Michael Imevbore Ojo, based in Houston, Texas, was suspended from practising law for 12 months by the Evidentiary Panel of the District 4C05 Grievance Committee of the State Bar of Texas.
The disciplinary action reportedly involved alleged violations of Texas professional conduct rules, including neglect, failure to communicate with clients and failure to cooperate with a State Bar investigation.
Troops rescue 31 abductees, neutralize terrorist kingpin in Katsina, Kebbi
NASS Transmits 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill to 36 State Assemblies
REVEALED: 11 Nigerian-Born Lawyers Hit by U.S. Disciplinary Actions Over Professional Violations
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