The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation was established in 1988 under the Civil Service Reorganization Decree No. 43. It is an extra-ministerial department under the Federal Ministry of Finance. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) gives the OAGF its constitutional responsibilities.

OAGF is the Treasury of the Federal Republic, with the Accountant-General as Chief Accounting Officer for all receipts and payments of the Federation. The office is responsible for: supervising the accounts of federal MDAs (ministries, departments, agencies), collating, preparing, and publishing the statutory financial statements of the Federal Government and for the Federation; maintaining and operating public funds (Federation Account, Consolidated Revenue Fund, etc.); conducting inspections of books of account in MDAs to ensure compliance; investigating fraud or loss of funds; issuing financial regulations and treasury circulars.