The Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr. Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, has urged the World Bank to speed up the approval and disbursement of project funds to Nigeria, saying the facilities are loans that must be repaid and not grants.
Ogunjimi made the appeal in Abuja during a courtesy visit by a World Bank delegation led by Treed Lane.
The Accountant-General stressed that as a responsible borrower, Nigeria deserves timely consideration and processing of its funding requests to support key development projects.
He warned that prolonged delays in approvals could discourage the government from continuing with such funding arrangements, noting that if approvals take longer than six months, the Federal Government may no longer honour the arrangements.
The accountangeneralal also disclosed that his office has begun addressing issues earlier raised by the World Bank, especially in the areas of public financial management statements and audit reporting.
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According to him, the 2023 Audit Report will be submitted to the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation within two weeks, while work is ongoing on the 2024 and 2025 audit reports.
On digital reforms, the Accountant-General assured the delegation that concerns regarding the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, known as GIFMIS, are being addressed through the replacement of obsolete infrastructure with modern technology.
Earlier, the leader of the World Bank delegation, Treed Lane, congratulated Dr. Ogunjimi on his recent appointment as African Chairman of the Association of Accountants-General.
She also encouraged the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to sustain efforts at digitalising operations and ensuring timely presentation of professional financial statements to strengthen public financial management processes.
Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
