By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Senate Committee on Finance on Wednesday threatened sanctions, including the suspension of budget releases, against federal agencies that fail to comply with statutory revenue remittance obligations or account properly for public funds.
The warning came as the committee ordered the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) to reconcile discrepancies in revenue deductions from the agency’s operating surplus.
The panel also handed the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) a 14-day ultimatum to regularise its financial records or face punitive legislative action.
The directives were issued during an investigative hearing on the remittance of internally generated revenue (IGR) and operating surplus by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) between 2023 and 2025.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Sani Musa, said the reconciliation exercise became necessary after conflicting figures emerged between NAFDAC and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission regarding deductions from the agency’s revenues.
NAFDAC disclosed that it generated ₦18.73 billion in 2023, ₦29.85 billion in 2024 and ₦39.6 billion in 2025, reflecting a sharp rise in internally generated revenue over the three years.
Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, however, said changes introduced under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy had significantly affected the agency’s operations.
She explained that the adoption of a zero-balance TSA arrangement in January 2024 resulted in deductions being made directly from payments by clients for regulatory services before the agency could access the funds.
According to her, about ₦21 billion was deducted under the arrangement, with only ₦13 billion refunded so far.
Adeyeye disclosed that President Bola Tinubu approved the refund of the deductions in August 2025 and also approved the removal of NAFDAC from the list of revenue-generating agencies.
The approvals, she said, are yet to be fully implemented.
“About ₦21 billion deducted directly from payments made by clients for regulatory services has yet to be fully refunded.”
Responding, Musa advised the agency to forward copies of the presidential approvals to the committee for legislative action.
The committee subsequently directed the Accountant-General’s Office to nominate a senior official to work with NAFDAC and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to reconcile the accounts.
While commending NAFDAC for improving revenue generation despite operational constraints, Musa insisted that agencies should not be deprived of funds legitimately due to them after meeting statutory obligations.
The committee also heard calls for greater investment in traditional medicine research.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan urged NAFDAC to deepen research into alternative medicine, noting Nigeria’s vast medicinal plant resources.
Adeyeye said the agency already had a regulatory framework for traditional medicines but lacked adequate funding for clinical trials required for international acceptance.
She also dismissed claims that medicines in circulation in Nigeria were only 30 per cent effective.
“Mandatory bioequivalence studies have strengthened quality assurance in the pharmaceutical sector.”
The hearing took a sharper turn when lawmakers focused on the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority.
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission informed the committee that the authority had failed to submit audited financial statements since 2022 and still had unresolved liabilities.
Acting Managing Director of the authority, Mr Ayo Oyano, told senators that OORBDA generated ₦72.755 million in 2023 and remitted ₦18.188 million, representing 25 per cent of the revenue.
However, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission insisted that as a fully funded federal agency, the authority was legally required to remit 100 per cent of its internally generated revenue into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The commission also disclosed that OORBDA had failed to submit audited financial statements for 2023, 2024 and 2025 and still had an outstanding liability of ₦71.5 million dating back to 2022.
Musa reminded the agency that its personnel, overhead and capital expenditure were already provided for in annual budgets approved by the National Assembly.
“You have no legal authority to retain revenue generated by the agency.”
Although Oyano argued that part of the funds was used to maintain tractors and other agricultural equipment deployed to farmers, the committee rejected the explanation.
Senator Aliyu Wadada backed the committee’s position.
“No government agency can spend internally generated revenue without lawful appropriation.”
The committee subsequently directed the authority to reconcile its accounts with the Office of the Accountant-General and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission within 14 days.
Musa warned that failure to comply would trigger legislative sanctions.
“Failure to comply will attract sanctions, including the suspension of budget releases.”
He said the ongoing investigation was designed to strengthen accountability, improve transparency and enforce strict compliance with statutory revenue remittance obligations across federal agencies.
The senator added that the Senate would not hesitate to invoke its constitutional powers against any agency that fails to honour invitations or account for public funds entrusted to it.
