Governor Olayemi Cardoso of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been given a deadline by the House of Representatives’ Joint Committees on Public Accounts and Public Assets to send N3.64 trillion to the Federal Government or face the possibility of an arrest warrant being issued.
Committee Chairmen Bamidele Salam and Ademorin Kuye accused Cardoso in a statement on Friday of repeatedly ignoring invitations and not adhering to resolutions pertaining to the Finance Act of 2020 and the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.
The legislators asserted that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, or FRC, supports the Auditor-General’s report, which states that the Central Bank of Nigeria owes the Federal Government N5.2 trillion in unpaid operating excess from 2016 to 2022.
According to the committee, unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances older than six years must be transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund, which is run by the Debt Management Office and the Ministry of Finance. This is in accordance with provisions in the Finance Act.
Previous reports also reveal that the CBN has not complied with the directives to disclose information about unclaimed cash by June 30 and to remit N3.64 trillion, or 70% of the undisputed amount, within 14 days.
“The National Assembly will not tolerate this level of disregard. We are ready to invoke constitutional powers to enforce compliance,” the lawmakers strongly stated.
