Reps Summon CBN Governor Over Alleged N15trn Unremitted Revenues

A rowdy session erupted in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as lawmakers clashed over the appropriate committee before which the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Yemi Cardoso, should appear to explain alleged non-remittance of N15 trillion owed to the Federal Government.

The dispute followed a motion titled “Non-Remittance of Over N5 Trillion Operating Surplus and N11 Trillion Government Revenue by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)” moved by Hon. Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). He sought the House’s approval to invite the CBN governor next Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. to clarify the alleged withheld revenues and present a plan for immediate payment.

Tension rose when Hon. Ghali Mustapha Tijjani (Kano) proposed the creation of an ad-hoc committee to handle the matter, a move seconded by Hon. Mark Esset (Akwa Ibom). The proposal drew stiff opposition from Hon. Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno), who insisted the PAC — already investigating the issue — should retain jurisdiction.

Jaha argued that the CBN’s repeated refusal to honour the committee’s invitations undermined the authority of Parliament. “In as much as the committee has written severally to the agency and they have not been honouring [the invitations], this time around it should be a resolution of the House,” he said.

Hon. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) supported the original motion, describing the revelations as “damning” and calling for the House to summon — not merely invite — the CBN governor in line with Order 19 of the chamber’s rules. He condemned the CBN’s alleged disregard of a constitutionally recognised committee, saying such behaviour was “unacceptable to this Parliament and Nigerians.”

A suggestion by Hon. Babajimi Benson to set up a three-committee panel (Finance, Banking Regulation, and Public Accounts) also failed to gain consensus, escalating disorder in the chamber until Speaker Abbas Tajudeen intervened.

Normalcy was eventually restored after Hon. Tijjani withdrew his amendment. Lawmakers then adopted Hon. Jaha’s revised proposal summoning the CBN governor and relevant agencies to appear before the Public Accounts Committee without fail.

Earlier, Hon. Salam briefed the House on startling findings from his committee’s review of the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report and the REMITA revenue collection system from March 2015 to April 2016.

The committee reported:

• An undisputed N5.2 trillion in unpaid operating surpluses from 2016 to 2022;
• Unrefunded charges totalling over N954 million, with accrued interest bringing the total due for refund to N3.28 billion;
• A migration discrepancy of N2.68 trillion payable to the Federal Government’s Asset Recovery Account.

Salam noted that the CBN’s cumulative indebtedness to the Federal Government stood at over N11 trillion, exclusive of other surpluses.

He lamented that despite multiple invitations, the CBN governor had “failed, refused, or neglected” to appear or remit the outstanding funds.

The House expects the CBN governor to appear before the Public Accounts Committee as summoned.