The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has recommended the exclusion of 2026 budgetary allocations to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet; Federal Housing Authority, FHA; Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON; National Insurance Commission, NAICOM; and National Business and Technical Examinations Board, NABTEB; including 17 other federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, for alleged accountability breaches.

Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam, explained the zero budget recommendation during a public hearing, relating it to failure of the affected agencies to respond to repeated invitations to audit queries contained in the Auditor-General for the Federation’s Annual Reports for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The panel said the agencies failed to submit required financial records and declined to appear before it to address issues relating to non-compliance with Financial Regulations, due process violations and weak internal control systems.

Other agencies listed for budget exclusion include the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC; Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Federal University of Gashua, Federal Polytechnic Ede, Federal Polytechnic Offa, Federal Medical Centre Owerri, Federal Medical Centre Makurdi, Federal Medical Centre Bida, Federal Medical Centre Birnin Kebbi, Federal Medical Centre Katsina, Federal Government College Kwali, Federal Government Boys’ College Garki, Federal Government College Rubochi, Federal College of Land Resources Technology Owerri, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, and the FCT Secondary Education Board.

The committee noted that several of the agencies also failed to submit audited financial statements for periods ranging from three to five years and above, contrary to statutory requirements.

Salam maintained that the National Assembly should not continue to appropriate funds to institutions that disregard accountability mechanisms, stressing that the recommendation was aimed at restoring fiscal discipline and strengthening transparency in federal institutions in line with the Financial Regulations 2009 and the constitutional oversight powers of the legislature.