Federal Govt Stops MDAs From Awarding Contracts Without Cash Backing

The federal government has tightened controls on the implementation of the 2026 capital budget, directing ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) not to award contracts, sign agreements or incur financial obligations without approved expenditure warrants and confirmed cash backing.

The directive, contained in a Treasury Circular dated July 31 and signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, requires MDAs to obtain a Warrant or Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) issued by the Minister of Finance and transmitted to the Office of the Accountant-General before awarding contracts or committing public funds.

According to the circular, MDAs must attach copies of Warrants or AIEs generated through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) as proof of available funds before processing contract awards or payments.

It added that all financial commitments, including purchase invoices and employee-related liabilities, must be restricted to uncommitted warrant balances and must not exceed the value of available Warrants or AIEs.

The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has also been directed to process requests for Certificates of No Objection only when accompanied by valid Warrants or AIEs.

The Treasury warned that awarding or signing contracts without budgetary provision, approval and cash backing constitutes an offence under the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act, 2000.

MDAs were further directed to submit annual and quarterly cash plans for their 2026 capital budgets to the Office of the Accountant-General.

The circular stated that annual cash plans, effective from July 1, 2026, together with first-quarter cash plans, were to be submitted by July 31, while subsequent quarterly plans must be forwarded by the 15th day of the first month of each quarter.

It also directed accounting officers, directors of finance and heads of internal audit to prioritise projects based on available Warrants or AIEs rather than relying solely on approved budgetary allocations.

A Cash Management Technical Committee will continue to review implementation plans and make recommendations to the Federal Cash Management Committee on project prioritisation.

According to Ogunjimi, the new measures reinforce an earlier Treasury Circular on revised cash management and bottom-up cash planning and are aimed at addressing observed violations of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, and other financial regulations.

President Bola Tinubu signed the 2026 Appropriation Act into law on April 17, approving a budget of N68.32 trillion, with the legislation taking effect retrospectively from April 1.

The budget provides N32.2 trillion for capital expenditure, N15.4 trillion for recurrent expenditure, N15.8 trillion for debt servicing and N4.799 trillion for statutory transfers.

The administration also extended the implementation of the 2025 capital budget to June 30, 2026, to allow MDAs to complete ongoing projects.

The tighter cash-backing regime comes as the federal government seeks to strengthen fiscal discipline amid a 2026 borrowing plan of N29.20 trillion and a wider budget deficit.

The circular also references GIFMIS, the federal government’s centralised treasury platform for processing budget releases, warrants and payments, and cites the Public Procurement Act, 2007, as well as the ICPC Act, 2000, in warning against contract awards made without approved funding.