The Coalition for Equity and Accountability in Public Finance (CEAPF) has called for the resignation of Wale Edun, Minister of Finance, and Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, Accountant-General of the Federation.
The group accused the officials of failing to pay contractors for projects captured in the 2024 budget and fully executed by local firms.
In a statement on Wednesday signed by Segun Daramola, president of CEAPF, and Isaac Idachaba, secretary-general, the coalition said it would approach the national assembly to lobby lawmakers across party lines for a vote of no confidence if the duo refused to resign.
The group said: “This is no longer a mere administrative delay; it is a calculated dereliction of duty.
“Contractors have completed projects backed by law, projects approved and funded under the 2024 appropriation act, yet they are left unpaid and forced into bankruptcy.
“Meanwhile, the federal government is executing and paying for projects not captured in either the 2024 or 2025 appropriation acts. This is unlawful, it is reckless, and it is unacceptable.”
The coalition said the contradictions in fiscal management undermine transparency and erode confidence in the sanctity of the budget process.
It described the situation as “a distortion of governance itself”, insisting that appropriation is the foundation of democracy.
“If ministers and accountants can disregard this at will, then the national assembly must rise up. It is the duty of lawmakers now to assert their authority by removing those who have so flagrantly undermined them,” the statement added.
The group said contractors across the country are burdened by crippling debts after borrowing from banks at high interest rates to deliver projects, creating a ripple effect that has hurt suppliers, small businesses, and workers.
“Government contracts are supposed to stimulate the economy. Instead, under the stewardship of Mr Wale Edun and the accountant-general, they have become instruments of ruin.
“Firms are collapsing, workers are being laid off, and banks are foreclosing on loans. This is economic sabotage by negligence,” CEAPF said.
The coalition argued that resignation was the only honourable course for the two officials, saying anything less would be a “mockery of accountability”.
It urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene, warning that the finance ministry’s actions risk undermining his reform agenda.
“The president has spoken of fiscal discipline and reform. This is the moment to prove that those words have meaning. If his team members cannot carry out the most basic function of governance,” the statement read.
