The Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has called on the World Bank to ensure speedy approval and disbursement of project funds.

Mr Ogunjimi made the appeal in Abuja during a courtesy visit by a World Bank delegation led by Mrs Treed Lane, manager of the World Bank team.

This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by the director of press and public relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Bawa Mokwa.

According to Mr Ogunjimi, the facilities are loans that the country is obliged to repay, not grants.

He emphasised that as a responsible borrower, Nigeria deserves timely consideration and processing of its funding requests.

He urged the World Bank to fast-track approval processes and ensure the prompt release of project funds to support the country’s development priorities.

According to him, prolonged delays in the approval process can undermine the government’s interest in accessing such facilities.

“If approvals take more than six months, the Nigerian government may no longer honour such arrangements,” he stated.

Mr Ogunjimi said the OAGF had commenced action on critical issues earlier raised by the World Bank, particularly in the areas of public financial management statements.

He disclosed that the 2023 audit report would be submitted to the OAGF within two weeks, while work on the 2024 and 2025 audit reports was already in progress.

The AGF also assured the delegation that concerns relating to the digitalisation of the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) were being addressed.

He noted that obsolete infrastructure is currently being replaced with modern technology to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Earlier, Mrs Lane congratulated Mr Ogunjimi on his recent appointment as the African chairman of the Association of Accountants-General.

She encouraged the OAGF to sustain its efforts in digitalising its operations and ensuring the timely presentation of professional financial statements to strengthen seamless public financial management processes. 

(NAN)