By Secrets Reporters
A troubling financial practice inside the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has come under fresh scrutiny, with nearly ₦142 million in cash advances to ministry officers left unretired and unrecorded, raising serious questions about the stewardship of public funds under the watch of Minister Zainab Ahmed.
The finding, which dates back to the 2021 fiscal year when Ahmed served as the substantive minister overseeing the ministry’s budget and planning mandate, paints a picture of a lax internal control environment where officers collected multiple cash advances before clearing previous ones.
According to the review, the sum of ₦141,971,777.00 was neither properly entered into the advances ledger nor retired at the time auditors examined the books, a direct breach of Financial Regulations 1405 and 1420(i).
For a ministry responsible for managing the nation’s fiscal purse, the implications are stark. The review warned that such unretired advances create room for the loss and diversion of public funds, while also complicating the government’s already tight budget funding position. In essence, money meant for specific official purposes was sitting in private pockets without accountability, long after it should have been accounted for.
The ministry’s management, however, has pushed back with a response indicating that remedial steps are underway. A desk officer in charge of advances was directed to commence retirement immediately, with the Internal Audit department barring any further issuance of advances until the backlog is cleared.
As of the time of the response, over ₦90 million representing more than 60 percent of the total had reportedly been retired, with vouchers attached for verification. Final reminders were also said to have been issued to staff with outstanding balances.
Yet the episode raises uncomfortable questions about why it took an external review to trigger action on funds that should have been monitored routinely. For ordinary Nigerians, the figures represent more than just accounting errors; they reflect a recurring pattern where public resources slip through procedural cracks, often with little consequence until the spotlight falls.
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