Reps panel probes CBN, NNPCL over unremitted operating surplus

…Queries OAGF over deductions from MDA accounts

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has intensified its investigation into the remittance of government revenues, directing the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to provide a comprehensive breakdown of operating surplus and other revenues allegedly owed to the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other government-owned enterprises.

The panel also sought clarification over claims that the OAGF made deductions from the statutory accounts of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including an alleged N15bn withdrawal from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), amid concerns that such deductions may have disrupted the agencies’ statutory responsibilities.

The resolutions followed an investigative session at the National Assembly on Tuesday, attended by Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and senior Treasury officials.

The hearing is part of the committee’s oversight of government finances and compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which mandates government-owned enterprises to remit a prescribed portion of their operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The operating surplus framework was introduced to boost government revenue and reduce leakages, but compliance has remained a longstanding challenge, with several agencies repeatedly accused of under-remitting or failing to remit altogether.

During the hearing, committee member Gboyega Isiaka expressed concern over the country’s revenue performance, saying weak remittance compliance continued to undermine Nigeria’s fiscal position.

He said, “Considering our GDP, ours is one of the lowest on the continent, at about 16 per cent. Business entities are expected to return about 80 per cent of their operating surplus, while others remit between 20 and 50 per cent.

“From everything we are seeing, there still appears to be a backlog of remittances. Can you provide some figures? Beyond that, as a member of the economic management team, how satisfied are you with the performance of agencies such as the CBN, SEC, NIMASA and others, considering the scale of assets they manage?

“It is not enough to say they remitted 80 per cent of their surpluses. What exactly is the surplus they are declaring? We need to examine that against the assets under their control, as well as revenues they ought to have paid but have not.”

Responding, Makinde Mogaji, the Director of Revenue and Investment, OAGF, disclosed that the CBN had an outstanding operating surplus obligation of N5.3tn.

According to him, previous efforts by the Public Accounts Committee to recover the money had yet to yield results.

He said, “Early last year, the CBN was owing the Federal Government N5.3tn as operating surplus. Despite the efforts of the Public Accounts Committee to recover the money, it has not been paid.

“70 per cent of that amount ought to have been remitted, but the CBN refused to pay. That is just one of our major sources of revenue. In contrast, an agency like FAAN has remitted N473bn.”

The committee also scrutinised the OAGF’s policy of making automatic deductions from MDA accounts to recover anticipated operating surplus before the close of each financial year.

Defending the practice, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, the Accountant-General, argued that it had significantly boosted government revenue.

He said, “That was an ingenious way of taking, in advance, what was due to government, and it helped us generate substantial revenue last year.”

Ogunjimi, however, admitted that the policy met resistance from some agencies, resulting in reviews and reversals.

He explained, “When we introduced the initiative and generated significant revenue, some agencies sought reversals. Some went to Mr President, arguing that the deductions were excessive. In some cases, the deductions were cancelled entirely; in others, they were reduced.

“We have continued to manage those issues, which is one reason we have not been able to sustain the level of collections achieved last year. There were also instances where agencies such as the NNPC refused to cooperate to the extent that they had to be asked to leave because of their non-compliance. While NNPCL accepted some of the liabilities, it disputed others, and those issues are still being considered by a post-mortem committee.”

Providing additional details, Mogaji said the auto-deduction policy remained in effect and was intended to reconcile actual operating surplus after agencies finalised their accounts.

He stated, “Yes, the auto-deduction system introduced last year is still in operation.

“It is designed to recover operating surplus in advance, after which agencies compute their actual surplus to determine whether they have been over-deducted or owe additional remittances. The figures we currently have are still subject to reconciliation and should not be regarded as final.”

The lawmakers, however, questioned the legality of withdrawing funds from agencies established to provide essential public services.

Bamidele Salam, the Chairman of the committee, referred to petitions received from UBEC and other agencies alleging that statutory allocations were withdrawn without timely reimbursement.

He said,”There is an ongoing investigation involving UBEC and other agencies. UBEC claimed that funds approved under its November 2025 Authority to Incur Expenditure were not released by the Accountant-General. It also alleged that N16bn and another N15bn were taken from the Commission’s account without refund.**

“We are concerned about these deductions from statutory allocations to critical government institutions. It is not only UBEC. NASENI raised similar complaints involving over N70 billion, and several other agencies have also made similar allegations. So, what is the justification?”

In response, Ogunjimi insisted that the withdrawals were temporary and made only when the government faced urgent financing needs.

He said, “There have been occasions when the government needed to meet critical financial obligations, and we temporarily utilised funds belonging to some agencies. It is essentially a loan, and we have been refunding those agencies.

“The Accountant-General cannot arbitrarily withdraw money from agencies’ accounts. We first analyse how long the funds have remained idle, acting on directives from the Honourable Minister.

“If funds have remained unutilised for several months and the government urgently requires financing, we temporarily deploy them and refund the money when the agency needs it.”

“For example, we utilised over N300bn belonging to TETFund and subsequently refunded the entire amount. Whenever an agency requests its funds for approved projects, we process the refund.”

Unconvinced, Salam insisted that agencies created by law should not be denied access to funds appropriated for their statutory functions.

He asked, “Which agencies have actually been refunded? UBEC is complaining, NASENI is complaining, NBC is complaining, and several others currently under investigation have made similar claims.

“Their major grievance is that funds are withdrawn from their accounts, leaving them unable to carry out the responsibilities for which the money was appropriated.”

He added, “Take UBEC for instance. We all know the consequences of neglecting basic education, particularly in northern Nigeria. We have about 13.5 million out-of-school children.

“UBEC is expected to build schools, provide infrastructure, and supply instructional materials. It cannot effectively discharge those responsibilities if its statutory funds are diverted to other purposes.”

The committee subsequently directed the OAGF to furnish it with detailed records showing outstanding operating surplus owed by the CBN, NNPCL and other government-owned enterprises, alongside documentation of deductions made from MDA accounts, refunds already made and balances yet to be settled.