FG’s Judgment Debt Records Reveal Wide Gap Between Allocation, Payments

…N16.62bn Allocation Overshadows N2.25bn Payments In Seven Years

…Contract, Project, Procurement Liabilities Account For 51.5% Of Payments

The Federal Government allocated N16.62bn for judgment debts between 2020 and 2026, while spending records showed that only N2.25bn in judgment-debt-related payments was captured during the period, an analysis of government budget and spending records by THE WHISTLER has revealed.

The figures point to a wide difference between what the government provided for judgment debts in its budgets and the payments recorded on GovSpend, with a gap of approximately N14.37bn between the two datasets.

However, the difference does not necessarily mean that N14.37bn allocated for judgment debts was left unspent, as the Budget Office/BUDGIT allocation data and GovSpend payment records represent different datasets and do not establish a direct one-to-one relationship between budgetary provisions and actual disbursements.

The analysis shows that the allocation was heavily concentrated in two ministries, while the recorded payments were dominated by a smaller group of agencies and institutions, particularly those dealing with contract-related disputes.

The Budget Office/BUDGIT data reviewed by THE WHISTLER shows that N16.62bn was allocated for judgment debts across five ministries between 2020 and 2026.

The Federal Ministry of Works received the largest share at N13.09bn, representing 78.8 per cent of the total allocation.

The Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs followed with N2.95bn, accounting for 17.8 per cent.

The Ministry of Education received N380.5m, while the Ministry of Labour received N112.5m and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare received N84.65m.

Combined, the Ministries of Works and Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs accounted for approximately 96.5 per cent of the total judgment debt allocation during the seven-year period.

The allocation was particularly concentrated in 2025, when N7.75bn was provided, representing about 46.6 per cent of the entire seven-year allocation.

This was the highest annual allocation recorded during the period.

The pattern, however, differs considerably from the payment data captured on GovSpend.

An expanded review of payment records covering 56 Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the Presidency, identified 34 payment records involving 17 government organisations between 2020 and 2026.

The transactions totalled N2.25bn in judgment-debt-related payments.

Unlike the allocation data, where 2025 recorded the highest provision, the highest recorded payment occurred in 2021.

The records show that N1.19bn was paid in 2021, representing approximately 52.7 per cent of the seven-year payment total.
Payments rose to N499.16m in 2023, making it the second-highest payment year and accounting for 22.2 per cent of the total.

The records also show N291.79m in payments in 2022, N175.24m in 2020, N46.42m in 2024, N12.16m in 2025 and N40.84m in 2026.

The divergence is particularly notable in 2025.
While the government allocated a record N7.75bn for judgment debts that year, records captured only N12.16m in judgment-debt-related payments.

The figures therefore show no straightforward correlation between the amount budgeted for judgment debts in a particular year and the payments recorded.

While the allocation data was dominated by the Ministry of Works, the payment records were led by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA.

FERMA accounted for N977.88m, representing approximately 43.4 per cent of the N2.25bn recorded payments.

A substantial portion of the agency’s payments arose from court judgments connected to the alleged wrongful termination of contracts for the general maintenance and rehabilitation of the Otukpo–Aliade Road in Benue State.

Several payments to HADDAD Contracting Company Nigeria Limited were recorded as part payments of the judgment debt arising from the contract dispute.

The transactions included payments of N219.33m, N214.86m, N214.86m and N194.07m, among other instalments, indicating that the liability was settled in phases.

FERMA also recorded an N89.52m payment in 2020 relating to judgment debt arising from the wrongful termination of two contracts that resulted in an out-of-court settlement.

The concentration of payments around contract disputes makes FERMA a significant component of the government’s recorded judgment debt liabilities during the period.

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation was the second-largest payer with N577.42m, representing 25.7 per cent of the total.

Two transactions made in July 2023 accounted for a substantial portion of the OAGF figure.

The transactions, totalling N448.82m, were described as refunds of judgment sums earlier debited in respect of the Akerele vs HMFA & 5 Others suit.

Although classified as judgment-related transactions, the descriptions indicate that the payments represented refunds of sums previously debited rather than straightforward fresh settlements to a judgment creditor.

Other OAGF payments included N73.85m to S. S. Afemikhe & Co. as balance of the final settlement of a judgment debt, N41m to Rex-Ogbuku & Associates and N13.76m remitted to the IPPIS Transaction Account for the payment of salary arrears owed to Mrs Mba Josephine.

The Ministry of Defence Headquarters ranked third among the largest recorded payers, with N300m, representing approximately 13.3 per cent of the total.

The payment was linked to Suit No. LD/192/2007, Godwin Ahior and Seven Others v. Attorney-General of the Federation and Others.

Together, FERMA, OAGF and the Ministry of Defence accounted for approximately 82.4 per cent of all judgment-debt-related payments captured in the GovSpend records.

The concentration suggests that a relatively small number of government institutions and disputes accounted for most of the payments identified in the dataset.

Other government institutions recorded substantially smaller judgment-debt-related payments.

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development recorded N67.30m, representing approximately 3.0 per cent of the total.

Its payments included N32.62m to Wilfred Achuke & Associates, N17.47m to Gbarus Nigeria Ltd and N17.21m to Sule Obaito and Associates in respect of outstanding judgment debts.

The Federal Ministry of Health recorded N46.17m, or approximately 2.1 per cent.
The payment related to the final payment of 60 per cent of a judgment debt arising from the supply, distribution and training of personnel on 640 ICRC First Aid Kits.

The Federal Ministry of Education recorded N43.07m, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recorded N40.84m.

The Foreign Affairs payments comprised two N20.42m transactions to B.O. Aleke & Associates as the first tranche of a judgment debt awarded in favour of Cheik Koita Global Resources Ltd following a dispute over the supply of a Toyota Land Cruiser VX-V8.

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments recorded N38.91m in a rent-related judgment debt in favour of Tunde Ponle.

The Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation recorded N36.52m for mapping of water and river bodies and federal constituencies in Anambra State, with the transaction described as a judgment debt.
The Federal Ministry of Environment recorded approximately N30.80m in relation to the Abonil Investment Ltd v. Honourable Minister of Environment case involving contract works executed for the ministry.

Beyond the individual institutions and cases, the data reveals that contract, project and procurement-related disputes constituted the largest identifiable category of judgment-debt-related payments.

The category accounted for approximately N1.16bn, representing 51.5 per cent of the N2.25bn recorded during the period.

The largest concentration came from FERMA’s payments arising from the alleged wrongful termination of contracts for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the Otukpo–Aliade Road.

Other contract-related payments included the N46.17m judgment debt recorded by the Federal Ministry of Health over the supply, distribution and training of personnel on 640 ICRC First Aid Kits.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also recorded N40.84m over a judgment arising from the supply of a Toyota Land Cruiser VX-V8.

Other transactions involved executed contract works, mapping services, solar street-light projects, procurement obligations and other contractual commitments.

The pattern suggests that contractual and project-related disputes remain a major source of financial liabilities that eventually reach the courts.

It also raises broader questions about contract administration, procurement compliance, legal review and dispute-resolution mechanisms within government institutions.

N14.37bn Gap Between Allocation And Payments
Overall, the Budget Office data shows N16.62bn allocated for judgment debts between 2020 and 2026, while the payment records reviewed by THE WHISTLER show N2.25bn in judgment-debt-related payments.
This leaves a difference of approximately N14.37bn.

The findings come against the backdrop of longstanding concerns over the federal government’s judgment-debt liabilities.

In 2019, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said more than N150bn in judgment debt remained unpaid as of 2015, warning that attempts to enforce such judgments had placed Nigeria’s assets abroad at risk.

More recently, the current Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said the government had introduced measures aimed at preventing debts arising from judgments and arbitration proceedings against government institutions.

Fagbemi said the measures were necessary because of the rising debt profiles of government institutions.

The Federal Ministry of Justice had also established a collaborative framework with specialist firms to strengthen the capacity of government legal officers to identify potential areas of dispute or liability in agreements that could result in avoidable litigation, arbitration costs and judgment debts.

Fagbemi had further said the government was taking steps to ensure that contracts within the Federal Executive Council’s threshold were properly vetted, describing litigation and arbitration as a major drain on public resources.