The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has informed the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) owes the Federal Government about N5.3 trillion in unremitted operating surplus.
The disclosure was made during a committee session where the Accountant General of the Federation, Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, appeared to respond to audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation.
Speaking before the committee, the Director of Revenue and Investment at the OAGF, Makinde Mogaji, said the outstanding amount had remained unpaid despite repeated efforts to recover the funds.
According to him, the Public Accounts Committee had directed that 70 percent of the amount be remitted, but the CBN had yet to comply. He added that the operating surplus remains one of the government’s major revenue sources, noting that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had remitted about N473 billion.
The committee directed the Accountant General to provide a detailed breakdown of outstanding operating surplus and other unremitted revenues owed to the Federal Government by the CBN, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other government agencies.
Lawmakers also requested clarification over the alleged withdrawal of N15 billion from the account of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), along with similar deductions from other government agencies.
Responding to concerns over the automatic deduction of funds from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Ogunjimi explained that the system was introduced as a way of collecting government revenue in advance.
He said the initiative significantly increased government revenue but later faced resistance from some agencies, which sought presidential intervention to reverse or reduce the deductions.
According to the Accountant General, while some agencies accepted the deductions, others, including NNPCL, reportedly refused to cooperate, leading to ongoing efforts by a committee reviewing the matter.
Makinde Mogaji also defended the automatic deduction policy, describing it as a mechanism for collecting expected operating surplus before final reconciliation. He explained that any excess deductions would be adjusted once agencies completed their financial assessments.
However, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Bamidele Salam, expressed concern over complaints from UBEC and several other agencies that funds meant for their statutory responsibilities had been deducted and diverted.
He cited allegations that UBEC had yet to recover N15 billion and another N16 billion reportedly withdrawn from its accounts, while agencies such as the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) also complained of substantial deductions.
Salam questioned the justification for removing funds allocated to critical agencies, warning that such actions could affect the delivery of essential services, including basic education.
In response, Ogunjimi maintained that the withdrawals were temporary and were made only to meet urgent government financial obligations.
He explained that such decisions were based on directives from the Minister of Finance after reviewing funds that had remained unused in agency accounts for extended periods.
The Accountant General described the deductions as temporary loans, assuring lawmakers that affected agencies are refunded when they require the funds.
He cited the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) as an example, stating that more than N300 billion previously borrowed from the agency had been fully refunded.
During the session, committee member Gboyega Nasir Isiaka raised concerns over the persistent issue of unremitted government revenue.
He called for greater scrutiny of agencies such as the CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), urging the government to assess whether the operating surpluses remitted by these institutions accurately reflect the scale of their assets and earnings.
