Lawmakers establish committee to investigate debts owed to federal government

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The House of Representatives on Thursday constituted an ad-hoc committee to investigate debts owed to the Federal Government by state actors, private entities and Ministries, Departments and Agencies, appointing the member representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency of Osun State, Oluwole Oke, as chairman of the panel.

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The committee was inaugurated following the adoption of a motion moved at plenary by Salisu Yusuf and five other lawmakers.

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The panel is expected to examine outstanding liabilities owed to the Federal Government, identify debtors, assess recovery efforts by relevant agencies and recommend measures for recovering the funds.

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Speaking on the motion, Yusuf expressed concern over Nigeria’s growing debt burden and declining revenue profile, warning that failure to recover monies owed to the government was worsening the country’s fiscal challenges.

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He stated, “As of September 30, 2025, Nigeria’s total public debt surged to N153.29tn, driven by increased domestic borrowing and currency depreciation.”

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He added, “The debt portfolio composed of over 53% domestic debt and roughly 47% external with debt servicing consuming a significant 47.85% of government revenue in the first nine months of 2025.”

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The lawmaker recalled that countries across the world, including Nigeria, resorted to borrowing and other fiscal interventions in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to stabilise their economies.

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He said, “Most countries around the world, including Nigeria had recourse to borrow and deploy other monetary policy tools to deal with economic challenges.

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“Some of these tools have been effectively and pragmatically deployed by the current administration and a notable effect is the stable and strong position of the naira over the last 15 months.”

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Yusuf, however, argued that while successive governments had focused heavily on debt servicing and fresh borrowing, insufficient attention had been paid to recovering funds owed to the federal government.

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He said, “The House is aware that the Federal Government of Nigeria is owed huge sums of money within and outside the country, including judgment debts.

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“These sums are held by state and non-state actors, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.”

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He also referenced the establishment of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit in 2015, which was created to strengthen oversight of government finances and improve accountability in public spending.

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“We are further aware of the establishment of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit in 2015 to set up systems and frameworks to oversee finance and spending of Federal Government revenue aimed at achieving improved efficiency, effectiveness and accountability,” he added.

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The lawmaker expressed concern that the continued failure to recover outstanding debts had compounded the government’s revenue crisis and encouraged the unlawful retention of public funds.

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He warned that the situation was negatively affecting the economy at a time the country was grappling with rising debt obligations, infrastructure deficits and pressure on public finances.

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The House subsequently mandated the Oke-led committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the debts and submit its report within four weeks for further legislative action.

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The move by the House comes amid increasing concern over Nigeria’s debt sustainability and the widening gap between government revenue and expenditure.

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In recent years, the Federal Government has faced mounting criticism from economic experts and policy groups over the high cost of debt servicing, which now consumes a substantial portion of national revenue.

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The concern has become more pronounced following repeated disclosures by fiscal authorities that several government agencies, contractors, oil companies and other institutions are indebted to the Federal Government through unpaid taxes, unremitted operating surpluses, royalty obligations, judgment debts and other liabilities.

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There have also been longstanding complaints about weak enforcement mechanisms and bureaucratic bottlenecks that often frustrate debt recovery efforts.

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The renewed push by lawmakers to recover outstanding debts is part of broader efforts to improve government revenue without imposing additional tax burdens on citizens already struggling with inflation and rising living costs.

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The House investigation is expected to draw attention to the scale of uncollected public funds and could trigger fresh scrutiny of revenue-generating agencies and organisations handling government assets and remittances.

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