The Senate has issued a stern warning to ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, threatening them with zero allocation in the 2025 fiscal year if they fail to appear before it to provide records of expenditures made from the 2024 appropriations.
The warning came during an investigative hearing by the Senate Committee on Finance, led by Senator Sani Musa, which focused on issues such as the remittance of internally generated revenue, fiscal accountability, and the overall state of Nigeria’s financial management system. Senators criticized the discrepancies in Nigeria’s revenue generation and expenditure tracking, calling for better coordination between the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the legislative body.
During the session, which involved the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, and her team, committee members expressed concern over discrepancies found in the financial records of some government agencies. Senator Musa, in his opening remarks, emphasized the need to address financial inconsistencies, which he argued undermine transparency and accountability in governance. He specifically warned that any agency failing to appear before the committee would face zero funding in the 2025 budget.
“This performance index exercise for the various MDAs is preparatory to the 2025 budget. Any agency that fails to appear before the committee upon invitation risks zero allocation in the 2025 budget because they must provide records of how the 2024 appropriations were expended with facts and figures,” Senator Musa stated.
The lawmaker also highlighted the challenges in accessing accurate data on the funds available to the federation, noting that this lack of clarity hinders effective oversight and policymaking. “We should be able to determine, at any point, the exact state of revenues collected, how they’ve been spent, and what has been allocated to various accounts. Unfortunately, that is not the case today,” he added.
Additionally, the committee stressed the importance of transparency regarding loans, grants, and other financial inflows managed by the government.
