Reps Seek Full Account of CBN, NNPCL’s Outstanding Operating Surplus

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to submit a comprehensive report on outstanding 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 several other government agencies.

The committee also demanded detailed explanations over allegations that the OAGF withdrew billions of naira from the accounts of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), without promptly refunding the funds.

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

Committee member, Hon. Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, expressed concern over what he described as persistent revenue leakages and poor remittance of operating surplus by government-owned enterprises, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s fiscal stability.

He noted that despite legal provisions requiring government agencies to remit a significant portion of their operating surplus to the Federal Government, several institutions were yet to fulfil their obligations.

Responding, the OAGF’s Director of Revenue and Investment, Makinde Mogaji, disclosed that the CBN alone allegedly owed the Federal Government about ₦5.3 trillion in unremitted operating surplus.

He said efforts by the Public Accounts Committee to recover the funds had yet to yield the desired result, adding that while some agencies had complied with remittance obligations, others continued to fall short.

According to him, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had remitted about ₦473 billion, but compliance remained unsatisfactory among several agencies.

Explaining the OAGF’s policy of making automatic deductions from the accounts of government agencies, Accountant-General Ogunjimi said the measure was introduced to recover estimated operating surplus due to the Federal Government in advance.

He stated that the policy significantly boosted government revenue last year but faced resistance from some agencies, which later sought presidential approval to reverse or reduce the deductions.

Ogunjimi disclosed that while some agencies secured approval for total or partial cancellation of the deductions, others, including the NNPCL, had not fully cooperated with the implementation of the policy.

He added that disagreements over deductions involving the NNPCL were still being addressed by a post-mortem committee established to resolve the matter.

Mogaji further explained that the deduction system was intended to recover estimated operating surplus ahead of reconciliation, after which agencies would either receive refunds for excess deductions or make additional remittances where necessary.

However, Chairman of the committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, questioned the legality of the deductions following petitions from agencies such as UBEC and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), which alleged that funds were withdrawn from their accounts without due process.

According to Salam, UBEC claimed that about ₦16 billion approved under its Authority to Incur Expenditure was not released, while another ₦15 billion was allegedly deducted from its account without reimbursement.

He added that NASENI and several other agencies had also lodged similar complaints, all of which are currently under investigation by the committee.

In his defence, Ogunjimi maintained that the deductions were temporary borrowings approved by the Federal Government to meet urgent national financial obligations.

He explained that the OAGF only accessed idle funds after obtaining approval from the Minister of Finance and insisted that the withdrawals were not arbitrary.

The Accountant-General cited the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) as an example, noting that more than ₦300 billion borrowed from the agency had been fully refunded.

The committee, however, rejected the explanation, insisting that statutory agencies must have uninterrupted access to funds needed to carry out their mandates.

Salam warned that withholding resources meant for agencies such as UBEC could undermine critical government programmes, particularly efforts to improve educational infrastructure and reduce the number of out-of-school children across the country.

The committee subsequently directed the OAGF to submit comprehensive records of all deductions, outstanding refunds, and unremitted operating surplus owed by government agencies to support its ongoing investigation.

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