Reps Summon Finance Minister, AGF Over N75bn UBEC Debt

The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, over an outstanding N75 billion reportedly borrowed from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

The lawmakers want the two officials to appear before the House Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, October 22, 2026, to explain how the debt will be repaid and provide a definite timeline for the refund.

Politics Nigeria reports that the decision followed a hearing in Abuja on Friday, October 16, where members raised concerns about the withdrawal of funds belonging to government agencies to meet other financial obligations without clear repayment terms or adequate notification.

The committee, presided over by its Deputy Chairman, Jeremiah Umaru, maintained that public funds allocated to one government institution should not be taken for another purpose without clearly defined conditions.

It stressed that even when such transactions occur between government institutions, the borrowing agency must provide assurances that the money will be returned within an agreed period.

“For each borrowing, there should be terms and conditions attached,” the committee said. “We want to know what your plan is. You borrowed money for certain reasons, but you should be willing to return it within a specific period, even without interest, since it is government-to-government.”

Umaru said the committee was determined to obtain a firm commitment from the two officials rather than rely on explanations from their representatives.

He insisted that the outstanding amount and the repayment arrangement must be settled before the matter could be closed.

“The main issue we are looking at is N75bn. We need the Accountant-General to appear in person, and we want the Honourable Minister to appear in person too so that we can get a timeline.

“We want to agree on when this money will be paid so that we can close this matter once and for all.

The committee’s concerns extend beyond the outstanding debt.

Members questioned the reported practice of making substantial deductions from the revenues of government agencies, sometimes reaching 50 per cent of their monthly or quarterly earnings, without a clearly established regulatory framework.

According to the lawmakers, the deductions have affected the ability of some agencies to meet their financial obligations, including the payment of staff salaries and the funding of essential operations.

They warned that institutions should not be deprived of the resources required to carry out their statutory responsibilities because of financial arrangements made elsewhere within the government.

“The agencies cannot do anything now because of those deductions. They use these monies to pay staff and fund their operations, but they can no longer do so because the funds have been taken without prior notification,” he said.

Responding on behalf of the Accountant-General, Ezeoke Christopher, a Deputy Director in the office, acknowledged the borrowings.

He described the transactions as internal financial arrangements intended to address funding gaps and enable the government to meet its statutory obligations.

Christopher explained that the arrangements were partly influenced by the government’s personnel expenditure, which he said reportedly exceeded N1 trillion monthly.

The explanation was presented as part of the circumstances surrounding the movement of funds between government institutions.

The Accountant-General’s office also informed the committee that efforts had been made to refund as much as N90 billion, although more than N70 billion remained outstanding.

The committee, however, was not satisfied with the explanations provided by Christopher and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Muhammed Danjuma.

The lawmakers maintained that the officials directly responsible for the financial decisions must appear before them and provide a clear repayment schedule.

They stressed that assurances from subordinate officials would not be sufficient to resolve the issue.

UBEC is responsible for supporting basic education through interventions designed to improve access to schooling and the provision of essential educational infrastructure across the country.

The commission’s funding supports programmes implemented in collaboration with state governments, making the availability of its resources important to the delivery of basic education projects.

The reported debt has therefore raised concerns about the potential implications for the commission’s operations, particularly if the outstanding funds are not returned within a clearly defined period.

A prolonged delay could complicate financial planning and affect the timely implementation of interventions that depend on predictable funding.

At the same hearing, UBEC Executive Secretary, Olajumoke Akinyemi, provided an update on states’ access to the commission’s matching grants.

He told the committee that more than 20 states accessed their grants in 2025, while over 13 states had accessed theirs in 2026.

Matching grants require state governments to provide counterpart funding to qualify for the release of corresponding federal allocations through UBEC.

The arrangement is intended to encourage state participation in basic education development and ensure that available resources are committed to improving schools and learning facilities.

Akinyemi identified Imo, Ogun, Anambra, Lagos, Kwara and Katsina as states with outstanding issues relating to counterpart funding.

He noted, however, that several states were taking steps to fulfil the requirements needed to access the funds.