Nigeria’s Accountant General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has warned that the country may decline future World Bank loan arrangements if delays in approvals and disbursements continue.
Mr Ogunjimi stated this in Abuja during a meeting with a World Bank delegation led by Treed Lane, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa.
The accountant general expressed concern over what he described as lengthy bureaucratic processes surrounding development financing, stressing that delayed approvals could affect project implementation and fiscal planning.
“If approvals take more than six months, the Nigerian Government may no longer honour such arrangements,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria expects faster processing of funding requests because the facilities are repayable loans rather than grants.
According to him, prolonged delays in accessing approved funds could undermine the effectiveness of projects tied to the financing arrangements.
Mr Ogunjimi urged the World Bank to accelerate approval and disbursement procedures to support the country’s development priorities.
Audit reports, financial reforms
The accountant-general said his office had begun addressing concerns earlier raised by the World Bank regarding public financial management and audit reporting.
He disclosed that the 2023 Audit Report would be submitted to the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation within two weeks, while work on the 2024 and 2025 reports is ongoing.
Mr Ogunjimi added that the government is taking steps to modernise the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) by replacing obsolete infrastructure with updated technology.
According to him, the reforms are aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and efficiency in Nigeria’s public finance system.
World Bank response
Speaking during the visit, Mrs Lane congratulated Mr Ogunjimi on his recent appointment as African Chairman of the Association of Accountants-General.
She also encouraged the Office of the Accountant-General to sustain ongoing digitalisation reforms and ensure the timely submission of financial statements to the Auditor-General.
The development comes amid growing scrutiny of Nigeria’s rising debt exposure to the World Bank and concerns over delays in loan disbursements.
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The World Bank explained that its loans are not released in lump sums but are tied to specific milestones and implementation conditions, depending on the financing structure of each project.
The global lender also noted that disbursement timelines vary across projects and are linked to agreed performance benchmarks between Nigeria and the bank.