Lawmakers move to summon CBN over N15trn non-remittance

A heated session unfolded in the House of Representatives on Wednesday over whether the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, should appear before the Public Accounts Committee, an ad-hoc panel, or the Committee of the Whole regarding the non-remittance of N15 trillion in revenues to the Federal Government.

The dispute arose following a motion titled “Non-Remittance of over Five Trillion Naira Operating Surplus and Eleven Trillion Naira Government Revenue by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)”, moved by Hon. Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun). Salam, who also chairs the House Public Accounts Committee, requested that the CBN governor appear before the committee next Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. to explain the non-remittance and provide a concrete plan for immediate payment into the federal government accounts.

Tensions escalated when Hon. Ghali Mustapha Tijjani (Kano) proposed that an ad-hoc committee be constituted to handle the matter, seconded by Hon. Mark Esset (Akwa Ibom). However, Hon. Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) opposed the idea, insisting the governor should appear before the Public Accounts Committee, which had already been investigating the issue.

“The sanctity of this institution cannot be compromised, even by the influence of a powerful agency head,” Jaha said. “This time, the House must pass a resolution compelling the CBN governor to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, whether they like it or not.”

Hon. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) supported the motion, stressing that the revelations from the Public Accounts Committee were alarming. He urged the House to invoke its rules to summon the CBN governor, saying the apex bank’s refusal to honour past invitations was unacceptable.

Hon. Babajimi Benson proposed populating the ad-hoc committee with members from Finance, Banking Regulation, and Public Accounts Committees, but the idea was eventually rejected. After further debate, Hon. Tijjani withdrew his amendment, and the House overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that the motion be amended to compel the CBN governor and relevant agencies to appear before the Public Accounts Committee.

Hon. Bamidele Salam highlighted findings from the committee’s investigation into the Auditor General’s 2022 financial report and the REMITA Revenue Collection System managed by the CBN between March 1, 2015, and April 30, 2016.

The committee found that the CBN had an undisputed liability of N5.2 trillion in unpaid operating surpluses due to the Federal Government from 2016 to 2022. Additionally, refunds of collected charges totalling N954 million had not been remitted, with interest at the Monetary Policy Rate raising the total due to over N3.2 billion.

Salam also noted discrepancies in migration records amounting to over N2.68 trillion owed to the Federal Government’s Assets Recovery Account. Cumulatively, the CBN is said to owe the government more than N11 trillion due to these infractions.

Despite repeated invitations, the CBN has reportedly failed to respond, prompting the House to insist on the governor’s appearance and immediate remittance of the outstanding funds.