The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has recommended the exclusion of the National Examinations Council (NECO), the University of Ibadan (UI), and 22 other government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) from the 2025 federal budget. The recommendation stems from allegations of unaccounted funds allocated to these bodies in 2024 and previous years.
Committee Chairman, Hon. Bamidele Salam, disclosed this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday. Salam cited a lack of fiscal discipline and accountability as factors undermining the effective implementation of Nigeria’s budgetary allocations.
“The Public Accounts Committee, as a constitutional body, is mandated to ensure accountability, probity, and efficiency in the utilization of public resources. Unfortunately, some agencies have become recalcitrant, refusing to honor invitations or provide explanations for how they utilized funds allocated to them in past budgets, including 2020, 2021, and 2022,” Salam said.
He highlighted that NECO, for instance, had been summoned five times by the Committee but failed to respond or attend any sessions. Salam added that this pattern of non-compliance extends to the 24 listed MDAs.
“One of the penalties specified by the Financial Regulations 2009 and other enabling laws is to suspend funding for agencies that fail to account for appropriations or disregard legislative invitations. After a thorough review, the Committee resolved to recommend delisting these agencies from further budgetary funding,” he stated.
The resolution underscores the Committee’s commitment to enforcing financial accountability across public institutions. It also serves as a warning to other agencies to comply with oversight processes to avoid similar sanctions.
