CBN Governor, Finance Minister to Address Allegations Before House Committee

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, along with the Minister of Finance, Olawale Edun, is scheduled to appear before the Joint House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts and Public Assets on Monday. 

This information was shared in a statement by Rep. Bamidele Salam, the Chairman of the Committee, and Rep. Ademorin Kuye, who leads the Public Assets Committee, in Abuja on Saturday.

According to report, Cardoso and Edun will need to clarify allegations regarding non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.

They are also expected to address internal control weaknesses highlighted in the 2021 reports by the Auditor-General for the Federation.

The two committees had sent a joint invitation to these officials, asking for details on the remittances of operating surplus to the Federation Account by the central bank, as mandated by existing laws.

It is also notes that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor-General had previously reported that several government agencies, including the CBN, had either failed to remit or had under-remitted their operating surplus over the past six years, in violation of financial laws.

The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee stated that these violations have adversely affected the liquidity of the Federal Government, hindering the effective execution of budgetary allocations passed by parliament.

The committee highlighted that it had given both the finance ministry and the CBN sufficient opportunity to reconcile their accounts and clarify their financial positions to assess the extent of the financial liabilities involved, which has led to the need for a final hearing to resolve these matters.

 Furthermore, it is reviewing the statutory report from the auditor-general, which indicated that several public assets, fully funded, have not been completed or utilized for many years.

“Some of these projects in Dutse, Abeokuta, and various other locations were awarded between 2011 and 2016 but remain unfinished, as per the audit reports,” stated the committee.