The Federal Government has introduced tighter controls on the management of public funds by imposing fresh restrictions on reimbursable imprest and strengthening compliance requirements across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The measures were outlined in the 2026 Annual General Imprest Warrant approved by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and communicated through a Treasury Circular issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The circular, dated June 3, 2026, was signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi.
It empowers accounting officers in the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government to approve funds for qualified imprest holders, while introducing spending ceilings and stricter monitoring mechanisms.
Under the new guidelines, ministers will be entitled to a maximum reimbursable imprest of N700,000. Permanent secretaries and directors-general are limited to N500,000, while directors and heads of departments can access up to N300,000. Heads of formations in states and other approved officers will have a ceiling of N100,000.
The Office of the Accountant-General stated that the directive aligns with Financial Regulation 1003 and forms part of efforts to improve accountability and prudent management of government resources.
According to the circular, “All Accounting Officers in the three arms of government, including Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Offices and Agencies, are hereby authorised to approve funds to eligible imprest holders.”
It further clarified that the reimbursement thresholds would apply strictly according to official rank and designation.
In another major policy shift, the federal government reduced the frequency of imprest reimbursements. The circular stated that reimbursements would ordinarily be processed once every quarter and should not exceed two approvals within the same quarter except under exceptional circumstances.
The government also directed all accounting officers and expenditure controllers to comply strictly with procurement regulations for purchases above N1m.
According to the directive, all local procurement of stores and services exceeding N1,000,000 must be carried out through formal contract awards in accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, unless otherwise exempted by law.
The circular further stressed the need for strict adherence to financial regulations governing the operation and retirement of imprest accounts.
As part of the new compliance measures, all self-accounting ministries, extra-ministerial departments, and agencies have been instructed to submit detailed returns to the Office of the Accountant-General within 30 days of the circular’s issuance.
The reports are expected to contain records showing how 2025 imprest allocations were retired, alongside lists of approved imprest holders for 2026 and their operational locations.
The federal government also directed all imprest holders to maintain dedicated operational bank accounts in line with its electronic payment policy.
In addition, monthly reports showing funds lodged into the accounts and evidence of retirement of such funds must be forwarded to the Office of the Accountant-General for monitoring purposes.
The Accountant-General warned that the Treasury Inspectorate Department would conduct routine inspections during the financial year to ensure compliance with the new guidelines.
The circular warned that any violation of the regulations governing imprest accounts could result in the withdrawal of authority to issue imprest from the affected accounting officer, alongside other sanctions deemed appropriate.
The directive was circulated to top government officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, service chiefs, heads of extra-ministerial agencies, chairmen of federal commissions, anti-corruption agencies, revenue-generating institutions and the Inspector-General of Police.
Imprest refers to cash advances released to public officers to handle routine and urgent official expenditures that may not require the full procurement process.
Nigeria’s financial regulations require all imprest holders to properly account for expenditures with supporting documents and retire previous advances before obtaining new approvals.
Successive administrations have repeatedly introduced tighter controls over imprest management following audit concerns over weak documentation, delayed retirement of advances and misuse of public funds.
In recent years, the federal government has also expanded electronic payment systems, strengthened Treasury Single Account controls and introduced broader public financial management reforms aimed at promoting transparency, accountability and value for money in public spending.
The latest directive is seen as part of ongoing efforts to tighten oversight of government cash advances and reinforce compliance with financial regulations across the federal public service.
