FG has barred MDAs from awarding contracts without warrant authority.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Government has directed all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to stop awarding contracts without proper warrant authority to incur expenditure.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during an event on the implementation of the extended capital budgets under the Bottom-Up Cash Planning Policy.
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Edun said the directive is part of efforts to ensure prudent management of the nation’s resources. He revealed that the Accountant-General of the Federation has been instructed to create a new business process that will allow MDAs to download and attach Warrants or Authorities to Incur Expenditure (AIEs) as proof of funds availability during tender board meetings.
“Henceforth, Warrants/AIEs will be issued to MDAs before any legal commitment is made, serving as evidence of funds for awarding contracts or processing payments for ongoing and completed projects,” he stated.
“For the avoidance of doubt, no letter of award should be issued, no contract signed, and no financial obligation entered into unless the corresponding Warrants/AIEs covering the full or committed portion of the contract sum have been duly released,” he warned.
Edun urged agencies to manage their allocated resources prudently and optimise revenue generation. He added that the government is working on funding the extended 2024 and 2025 capital budgets, with particular focus on priority projects.
This development comes months after Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi (Bauchi Central) raised concerns in 2024 over the non-payment of contractors handling government projects.
