The federal government has warned ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) that failure to prepare and submit their statements of accounts to the treasury on or before December 31, 2025, will attract sanctions, including the suspension of funds.

 

 

 

The directive was contained in a circular dated December 22, 2025, and signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi.

 

 

 

According to the circular, any MDA that fails to prepare and submit its separate annual financial statements will have its release of funds suspended indefinitely and may also face administrative consequences at the leadership level.

 

 

 

“Any MDA that fails to prepare and render its separate (stand-alone) annual financial statements will have its release of funds suspended indefinitely, while a query shall be issued to the director/head of accounts and administration,” Ogunjimi said.

 

 

 

The circular, titled Guidelines of Financial Activities for End of the Year 2025, directed all MDAs to ensure that all revenues due to the Federation Account and the Consolidated Revenue Fund/TSA Sub-Recurrent Account are fully collected and properly accounted for before the close of the financial year.

 

 

 

It also instructed MDAs authorised to retain 50 per cent of their gross internally generated revenue (IGR) to strictly comply with the requirement to remit the remaining 50 per cent to the TSA Sub-Recurrent Account, in line with the applicable finance circular issued on December 28, 2023.

 

 

 

Ogunjimi said MDAs must “ensure due diligence in the collection, utilisation, and remittance of their revenue,” in accordance with circular reference FMF/CME/OTHERS/IGR/CFR/21/2023. He added that reports on the collection, utilisation, and remittance of IGR must be uploaded on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform to ensure complete and accurate accounting records.

 

 

 

On the remittance of operating surpluses, the Accountant-General directed all corporations, departments, and agencies listed under the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, as revised by the December 28, 2023 finance circular, to limit their total budgetary expenditure to 50 per cent of their gross revenue. They are also required to remit 80 per cent of the remaining 50 per cent into the TSA Sub-Recurrent Account as interim or advance payment of operating surplus.

 

 

 

The federal government has consistently maintained that unspent funds must be returned to the treasury at the end of each accounting year, although compliance among MDAs has remained uneven.

 

 

 

Earlier disclosures by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission indicated that more than ₦5 trillion in operating surpluses was remitted between 2007 and 2024, while over ₦1.5 trillion was reportedly lost due to the failure of some agencies to remit the required 80 per cent of their operating surpluses.

 

 

 

Separately, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had warned MDAs that non-compliance with the revised cash planning policy could lead to the blocking of their capital funds, stressing that strict adherence was necessary to improve discipline in public financial management.

 

 

 

In July, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation introduced additional financial control measures after observing what it described as a “surge in unretired advances and idle cash balances across several ministries and agencies.” MDAs were subsequently instructed to submit comprehensive annual reports on unretired advances, with warnings that violations could result in the withdrawal of imprest privileges or further sanctions.

 

 

 

The latest directive signals a renewed push by the treasury to enforce stricter accountability across federal institutions as the 2025 financial year draws to a close, with continued access to government funds tied to full compliance with reporting, remittance, and expenditure rules.