The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a resolution to compel the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, to appear before the House over allegations of failing to remit over N5 trillion of operating surplus and N11 trillion of government revenue to the federation account.
Leading the debate on the motion, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Honorable Bamidele Salam, sought approval to invite the CBN Governor to appear before the House on December 16 at 11 am to explain the non-remittance of the identified government revenue and present a concrete plan for the immediate payment of all outstanding amounts in the designated government accounts.
Salam maintained that the House, through its Public Accounts Committee, is duly empowered by Sections 85(5), 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Order 20, Rule 6 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives (11th Edition), to consider the reports of the Auditor General and conduct investigations in the general and specific areas of public financial management in Nigeria.
According to him, the committee, in the course of the ongoing investigation into the Auditor General’s Report for the financial year 2022 and the administration of the REMITA Revenue Collection System by the apex bank, covering the period from March 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016, discovered the CBN’s undisputed liability of N5.2 trillion in unpaid operating surpluses owed to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the years ending in 2016. until 2022, which has not been submitted to date.
“The House also notes that under the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, the Finance Act 2020 and relevant subsidiary legislation, the Central Bank of Nigeria is mandated to collect, account for and remit all federal government revenues accrued through the Remita platform to designated government accounts in a transparent, efficient and regulatory compliant manner,” Salam said.
He alleged that the committee discovered an immigration discrepancy amounting to N2,686,325,119,825.10 outstanding and payable to the Federal Government Asset Recovery Account.
“The House is concerned that, as a whole, the committee has found that the Central Bank of Nigeria is indebted to the Federal Government of Nigeria to the tune of over N11 trillion, as a result of the above breaches and discrepancies.
“The House is concerned that despite several formal communications and invitations extended to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria by the Public Accounts Committee to appear, provide explanations and remit outstanding amounts to designated government accounts, the Central Bank of Nigeria has failed, refused or refused to honor the invitations or make the required remittances as directed by the committee,” it alleged.
In his remarks, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who presided over the session, informed the House that after consultation with the majority and minority leaders, the House will adopt the motion for the Ad-hoc Committee to take up the investigation.