Rep. Saidu Abdullahi (APC Niger), issued a stern warning threatening to authorize the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to block the accounts of any defaulting agencies.
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the continuous failure of various Federal Government Agencies to honour its invitations.
At the resumed revenue monitoring exercise on Monday, the Committee’s Vice Chairman, Rep. Saidu Abdullahi (APC Niger), issued a stern warning. He threatened to authorize the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to block the accounts of any defaulting agencies.
“Let me put on record that we hope to have these agencies appear before the committee. Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, National Broadcasting Commission, National Examination Council, and National Inland Waterways Authority,” Abdullahi stated.
“We expect them to make an appearance by tomorrow, Tuesday. If they fail to appear before this committee, we may be forced to take appropriate action. We may write to the Office of the Accountant General to block their accounts.”
Abdullahi emphasized the importance of this assignment, noting, “We will not take it lightly with any agency because this is an assignment that is very important to this country. We talk about revenue, and if we cannot collect the revenue accruing to this country, I think there is a big problem.”
During the hearing, Musa Jemaku, the Director of Finance and Accounts at the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), disputed claims by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) regarding the non-payment of operating surplus for three years (2019-2021).
A representative from the AGF’s office had stated that the FRC had not remitted its operating surplus of N126 million for 2019, N143 million for 2020, and N26 million for 2021 to the federation’s coffers. Jemaku countered this, noting that the agency had paid about N800 million to the government in 2024 and disputed the AGF’s claim that only about N602 million had been deposited into the government’s account.
Jemaku further explained that a circular from the Minister of Finance’s office for implementing the Finance Act 2020 had automated the process of paying the 50 per cent deduction.
He argued that the AGF should be better positioned to address why the system could not deduct the correct 50 per cent for the period.
“On a lighter note, let me say that this is not the avenue for the AGF to draw our attention to the non-payment of operating surplus when there is no official communication from them to the agency,” Jemaku remarked.
