The Federal Government has introduced new measures to control spending across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by reducing reimbursable imprest limits and strengthening oversight of public funds.
An imprest is a cash advance given to public officers to cover routine and urgent official expenses that do not require the normal government procurement process. Such funds must be accounted for with supporting documents and fully retired before new approvals are granted.
The new directives are contained in the 2026 Annual General Imprest Warrant signed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.
Details of the policy were released in a Federal Treasury Circular dated June 3, 2026, and signed by Shamseldeen Ogunjimi. The circular authorises accounting officers in the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government to approve funds for eligible holders under revised spending limits.
Under the new arrangement, ministers can receive 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 authorised holders have a maximum limit of N100,000.
The Office of the Accountant-General said the changes were made in line with Financial Regulation 1003 to improve accountability in the management of public resources.
The government has also placed restrictions on how often imprests can be replenished.
“The frequency of reimbursement of any standing imprest shall normally be once in a quarter and shall not exceed twice in a quarter where the need arises,” the circular stated.
The directive further requires that any local procurement of goods and services above N1,000,000 must be processed through contract awards instead of cash advances, in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.
To ensure compliance, all self-accounting ministries, departments and agencies must submit reports to the Accountant-General within 30 days. The reports must show how their 2025 allocations were retired and provide details of approved imprest holders for 2026, including their locations.
Imprest holders are also required to operate dedicated bank accounts that comply with the government’s electronic payment policy. They must submit monthly reports showing all inflows and retirements of funds to the treasury.
The Accountant-General stated that the Treasury Inspectorate Department will conduct routine inspections throughout the financial year to ensure compliance.
Financial officers who violate the regulations risk losing their authority to issue imprests and may face other administrative sanctions.
The directive has been circulated to key government officials, including the Chief of Staff to the President, ministers, service chiefs and heads of anti-corruption agencies.
