Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, accountant-general of the federation, faced tough questioning from the senate committee on finance on Thursday over unpaid contractors’ dues and zero capital releases to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Ogunjimi was answering questions from members of the senate
committee when he appeared for the 2026 budget defence chaired by Sani Musa,
senator representing Niger east.
At the commencement of the session, Musa said the office of
the accountant-general must address concerns over poor budget implementation
before the committee could consider its proposal.
“We are not going to take your budget until when we are
satisfied that your office is ready to do things that will make things work for
Nigerians through expected assurances from you,” the lawmaker said.
He criticised the envelope budgeting system used by the
federal government, saying it has failed to deliver expected results.
“One of the issues that must be urgently resolved is the
envelope budgeting system being used by the federal government on a yearly
basis but not producing desired results, requiring an alternative model like a
performance-based one,” Musa said.
Danjuma Goje, senator representing Gombe central, said the
legislature was embarrassed by persistent complaints from contractors over
non-payment.
“Here at the national assembly, we have never seen
contractors bombarding us on a weekly basis for intervention on non-payment of
executed contracts,” Goje said.
“The impression given to us and Nigerians by the government
is that with the removal of the subsidy and the harmonisation of the forex
market, there will be more revenue or more money.
“Where is the money now? Why are contractors owed? And why
was it zero allocation for capital votes for most of the MDAs in 2025?”
Muntari Dandutse, senator representing Katsina south, also
questioned reports that revenue agencies generated N28 trillion while most
contractors remain unpaid.
“Even the introduced centralised payment system is not
helping matters at all,” Dandutse said.
“The system is very compromised and seriously affecting the
integrity of government.”
He also warned that the situation would affect the image of
the Bola Tinubu-led government.
Other senators also raised concerns about poor capital
budget releases and urged corrective action.
On his part, Tokunbo Abiru, senator representing Lagos east,
urged Ogunjimi and his team to work on improving the capacity of the
centralised payment system to be more efficient.
In response, the accountant-general said the indiscriminate
award of contracts by some MDAs without available funding contributed to the
backlog of unpaid obligations.
“Yes, as the accountant-general of the federation, my office
is expected to disburse fund to relevant agencies at appropriate time, but that
can only be done if the fund is available because I must have the fund before I
can disburse,” he said.
He said a directive has since been issued barring MDAs from
awarding contracts without confirmed funding.
Ogunjimi acknowledged operational challenges with the
centralised payment system but said efforts are underway to address them.
“I also want to remind us that ‘Ways and Means’ used in the
past for such funding is no more for the good of the nation’s economy,” he
added.
The committee later went into a closed-door session with the
Ogunjimi for further deliberations.
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