• Moves to end Nigeria’s ransom economy, seeks crackdown on POS operators, BDCs, crypto platforms
Adedayo Akinwale and Juliet Akoje in Abuja
The plenary in the House of representatives turned rowdy yesterday following the disagreement among lawmakers over a motion seeking to summon President Bola Tinubu.
The lawmaker representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie federal constituency in Delta State, Hon. Benedict Etanabene, had raised a point of privilege to draw the attention of the House to a June 29 circular by the Accountant General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi.
Ogunjimi, had through the memo directed all federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to immediately stop processing payments for constituency and Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIPs) unless they had been formally vetted by the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.
The lawmakers had at different times planned a showdown with the executive over the slow implementation of the budget, which was stalling the execution of constituency projects.
But the leadership of the House always found ways to placate the lawmakers.
Checks revealed that since 2025, local contractors had been protesting the debt backlog for projects executed for the federal government.
Protesters, under the aegis of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), had blocked the gates of the ministry of finance and the national assembly complex to press home their demands.
However, in December 2025, Tinubu set up a multi-ministerial committee to resolve the saga, with outstanding payments at about N1.5 trillion.
In January, the federal government said it had commenced disbursing funds to contractors for “verified contracts”.
Displeased by the recent circular issued by Ogunjimi, Etanabene urged the House to summon the President to address lawmakers on the delay in implementing the 2025 budget.
The lawmaker was of the opinion that the circular would further hamper the execution of the Appropriation Act.
Etanabene argued that the issue was not new, recalling that the House had previously invited the accountant-general, ministers, and other officials to address budget implementation delays without any meaningful resolution.
He pointed out that lawmakers could no longer explain to their constituents why projects approved in the budget had yet to commence.
“The budgets are not being implemented presently in Nigeria today. We are implementing the 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets concurrently. This is not in the best interest of everybody.
“I wish to move the motion that this House invite Mr. President to come in the soonest to brief this house and explain the need for this circular,” he said.
It was at this point that the lawmakers were sharply divided. While some supported the motion, others did not.
The lawmakers’ inability to reach a compromise on the motion to summon the President threw the Green Chamber into a rowdy session.
It took the Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, took several minutes to restore calm during the plenary.
Abbas explained that the motions raised on a point of privilege were not subject to debate.
Immediately after the Speaker restored calm and normalcy on the floor, Hon. Alex Mascot also moved a motion on urgent public importance, lamenting poor funding and delay in the release of appropriated public funds for critical sectors of the economy, including security.
The controversial motion however enjoyed overwhelming support from the majority of members across party lines.
The lawmakers, who supported the motion shouted down some of the lawmakers who opposed the motion.
Mascot argued that the powers of appropriation in the National Assembly, and that the credibility of the budget rested not only on the size of the figures appropriated, but on the fidelity, timeliness with which appropriation funds were released, cash-backed, and utilised for ministries, departments, and agencies.
He recalled that during the 2026 budget defence sessions, Ministers and Heads of MDA disclosed deeply troubling levels of funding of the 2025 budget, including sectors that recorded zero capital releases for the entire fiscal year, and others that received only a token, a fraction of their appropriated capital votes.
The lawmaker stressed that Tinubu at the Federal Executive Council of 10th December, 2025 expressed grave displeasure at the backlog, directed the immediate settlement of verified contractor liabilities of about N1.5 trillion.
He added the National Assembly approved the borrowing in excess of N1 trillion specifically to finance the settlement of outstanding obligations on completed and verified capital projects, in addition to dedicated provisions in the 2026 Appropriation Act for contractor liabilities.
Mascot expressed concern that, notwithstanding the clear directive of the President, the legislative approvals and the ministerial assurances released to MDAs remained slow.
Be noted: “If I may say nonexistent, stalling critical projects, escalating contract costs, exposing contractors to insolvency, and rising non-performing loans and eroding public trust in the budget of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, approved by this Parliament.
“The House is disturbed by recent newspaper reportage of a federal treasury circular dated 29th June, 2026 issued by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, halting payments for zonal intervention and constituency projects, unless a certificate of verification and compliance is first obtained from the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.”
The Speaker ruled that the House would constitute an Ad-hoc Committee that would interface with the relevant fiscal authorities on the state of releases, the settlement of contractor liabilities and the utilisation of approved borrowings, and report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.
He said the ad hoc committee would comprise the Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, as Chairman, and the following as Members: the Chief Whip of the House; the Minority Whip; the Chairman, Committee on Finance; the Chairman, Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management; the Chairman, Committee on Budget and National Planning; the Chairman, Committee on Public Accounts; the Chairman, Committee on Constituency Projects; and any other Members.
Abbas maintained that the issue of summoning the President, as included in the debate of Masco, could not be adopted by the House, noting that such action is unparliamentary.
Reps Move to End Nigeria’s Ransom Economy, Crack Down on POS Operators, BDCs, Crypto Platforms
The House of Representatives, has called for urgent executive action to dismantle Nigeria’s growing ransom economy by strengthening financial intelligence coordination and enforcing strict compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering laws to disrupt criminal financing networks.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Ademorin Ali Kuye at plenary, yesterday, where lawmakers expressed concern over the increasing sophistication of financial channels used to facilitate ransom payments and finance kidnapping, terrorism and other organised crimes across the country.
The House noted that Sections 14(2)(b) and 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) placed the responsibility on the federal government to protect the lives of citizens, maintain public order and safeguard Nigeria’s economic sovereignty.
Kuye also observed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007, and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020, empowered the CBN to regulate monetary policy, oversee currency management and protect the integrity of the nation’s financial system.
He further noted that the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, imposed obligations on financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and relevant government agencies to detect, report and disrupt illicit financial flows, including ransom payments.
According to the lawmaker, reports from the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the National Bureau of Statistics’ Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024, as well as findings by independent security research organisations, revealed that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.23 trillion in ransom between January 2021 and June 2025, a development they said has continued to sustain kidnapping and other organised criminal activities.
He also cited investigations by the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), which reportedly uncovered the use of Point-of-Sale (POS) operators and other financial channels to facilitate ransom payments while concealing financial trails, thereby frustrating recovery efforts and law enforcement investigations.
He further expressed concern that criminal and terrorist groups continued to exploit both formal and informal financial systems, including Bureau De Change operators, hawala networks, cryptocurrency platforms, livestock transactions and trade-based money laundering schemes, to launder ransom proceeds and reintegrate the funds into the legitimate economy.
Kuye warned that persistent weaknesses in financial intelligence coordination and anti-money laundering enforcement exposed Nigeria to greater security threats, erode public confidence in the financial system and increase the country’s risk of international sanctions as well as continued placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
Consequently, the House urged President Bola Tinubu to establish a coordinated inter-agency framework aimed at disrupting ransom financing and strengthening collaboration among security, regulatory and financial institutions responsible for financial intelligence.
The lawmakers also called on the federal government to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of existing regulations relating to ransom payments and terrorism financing while promoting effective cooperation among victims, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide adequate funding for financial intelligence infrastructure, including advanced transaction monitoring and analytical systems capable of tracking suspicious financial activities.
It further directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit and other relevant regulatory authorities to carry out a comprehensive audit of suspicious POS transactions in high-risk areas and take appropriate regulatory action against operators found to be involved in ransom-related activities.
The lawmakers called on the Attorney-General of the Federation and relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute individuals and organisations involved in facilitating ransom transactions in line with existing laws.
