The federal government has warned ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) that failure to prepare and submit their statements of accounts to the treasury by December 31, 2025, will attract sanctions, including the suspension of funding.
The warning was issued 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 stand-alone annual financial statements will have its release of funds suspended indefinitely and may also face administrative sanctions at the leadership level. Ogunjimi noted that queries would be issued to the director or head of accounts and administration of defaulting agencies.
The circular, titled Guidelines on Financial Activities for the End of the 2025 Financial Year, 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.
MDAs authorised to retain 50 per cent of their gross internally generated revenue (IGR) were also reminded to strictly remit the remaining 50 per cent to the TSA Sub-Recurrent Account, in line with the finance circular issued on December 28, 2023.
Ogunjimi stressed the need for due diligence in the collection, utilisation, and remittance of revenue, in accordance with circular reference FMF/CME/OTHERS/IGR/CFR/21/2023. He added that reports on IGR collection, utilisation, and remittance must be uploaded on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to ensure accurate and complete financial records.
On 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 circular, to limit total budgetary expenditure to 50 per cent of their gross revenue. They are further required to remit 80 per cent of the remaining balance to 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 showed that over ₦5 trillion in operating surpluses was remitted between 2007 and 2024, while more than ₦1.5 trillion was reportedly lost due to the failure of some agencies to remit the required 80 per cent of their surpluses.
Separately, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had warned that non-compliance with the revised cash planning policy could lead to the blocking of capital funds, stressing that strict adherence was essential to improve public financial management.
In July, the Office of the Accountant-General introduced additional financial control measures after observing a surge in unretired advances and idle cash balances across several MDAs. Agencies were subsequently directed 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 effort by the treasury to strengthen accountability across federal institutions as the 2025 financial year draws to a close, with continued access to government funds now firmly tied to full compliance with reporting, remittance, and expenditure requirements.