FG to publish instructions for government account withdrawals

On January 5, 2023, The PUNCH has learned that the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit will release new regulations on cash withdrawals from all government accounts.

This information was included in a document that our correspondent exclusively got on Tuesday night.

The PUNCH exclusively revealed in December 2022 that the NFIU was putting the essential safeguards in place to prevent cash withdrawals from the bank accounts of the federal, state, and municipal governments. This revelation was made by Modibbo Tukur, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, during a discussion with Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, in Abuja.

He declared: "Section one of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act is now applicable due to the ongoing devaluation of the naira and the implementation of a new currency policy.

Tukur added that the majority of cash withdrawals from government accounts, including payments for estacode, frequently exceed the amount permitted by the Money Laundering Act.
He said that this made innocent public employees criminally accountable. He continued by saying that the NFIU is drafting a recommendation for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, all governors, and chairmen of local government councils to instruct all public employees to open domiciliary and naira accounts before the policy goes into effect and becomes mandated by law.

He also denied rumors that the NFIU will close the Federal Government's accounts in January 2023, saying that governors and council chairmen will need to arrange training for market men and women on how to use ATM and POS services.
According to its "suspicious transaction report/suspect activity report," the NFIU highlighted suspicious transactions worth over N150 trillion between January and March 2022, The PUNCH also reported in November 2022.
The development came after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and NFIU officials disclosed that they had stepped up their surveillance of political parties' and their candidates' campaign spending in the run-up to the 2023 elections.