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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has recommended zero allocation for the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and 20 other institutions in the 2026 budget for allegedly failing to account for public funds appropriated to them.
The committee, at an investigative hearing, accused the affected ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of shunning invitations to respond to audit queries contained in the Auditor-General for the Federation’s annual reports for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The affected MDAs include the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
Others are Federal University of Gashua; Federal Polytechnic, Ede; Federal Polytechnic, Offa; Federal Medical Centre, Owerri; Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi; Federal Medical Centre, Bida; Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi; Federal Medical Centre, Katsina; Federal Government College, Kwali; Federal Government Boys’ College, Garki, Abuja; Federal Government College, Rubochi; Federal College of Land Resources Technology, Owerri; Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria; and the FCT Secondary Education Board.
This is as a civil society organisation (CSO), National Vanguard for Accountable and Transparent Democracy (NVATD), blamed the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, his Minister of State, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), Mr Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, for the poor funding of the capital component of the 2024 budget.
The CSO, which spoke through its Secretary General, Harry Linus, said the development affected all sectors of the nation’s economy, leading to non-performance of the 2025 budget.
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According to him, “We watched the Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, while trying to defend the 2026 budget before the National Assembly. The man almost collapsed in tears, lamenting how only 36 million naira was released out of over 200 billions appropriated for public health in the 2025 budget.
“One could only imagine the pains of a genuine public officer and a professional doctor who took a Hippocratic oath of protecting human lives, but being frustrated by misdemeanor of his colleagues.
“The issue here is very simple. The projects contained in the 2024 budget were duly executed by those contractors, most of whom took loans from banks to execute. The Federal Government has also, at various times, commissioned those projects. But the contractors have not been paid.”
He added that, following the failure to fund the budget, there was no way fresh contracts could have been awarded under the 2025 appropriation, stating that “that’s why no sector was able to perform in the 2025 fiscal year.”
The PAC chairman, Bamidele Salam, while speaking on the decision of the committee to recommend a zero budget for the defaulting MDAs, stated that the National Assembly should not continue to appropriate public funds to institutions that disregard accountability mechanisms.
According to him, “Public funds are held in trust for the Nigerian people. Any agency that fails to account for previous allocations, refuses to submit audited accounts, or ignores legislative summons cannot, in good conscience, expect fresh budgetary provisions. Accountability is not optional; it is a constitutional obligation.”
The panel maintained that its recommendation for a zero budget for the affected MDAs is aimed at restoring fiscal discipline and strengthening transparency across federal institutions and conforms with extant financial regulations and the oversight powers of the parliament.
