The House of Representatives Joint Committees on Public Accounts and Public Assets have summoned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, to appear before them on Monday, June 16, 2025.
The invitation follows allegations of non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 and concerns raised in the 2021 audit report from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, which highlighted serious internal control weaknesses.
In a letter jointly signed by the Chairmen of the Committees—Bamidele Salam (Public Accounts) and Ademorin Kuye (Public Assets)—the lawmakers requested that the officials present details regarding the remittance of operating surpluses to the Federation Account by the CBN, as mandated by existing financial regulations.
Both the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor General have in previous reports accused several Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs)—including the Central Bank—of either failing to remit or under-remitting their operating surpluses over the past six years.
“These violations have negatively impacted the liquidity of the federal government and constitute a hindrance to effective implementation of the budgets passed by parliament,” Salam stated.
According to the committees, ample time had already been granted for the Finance Ministry and the apex bank to reconcile their records and present accurate financial positions, prompting the need for a final hearing to resolve outstanding discrepancies.
In addition to the surplus remittance issue, the Committees are also probing claims in the Auditor General’s statutory report which allege that several government-funded projects, though fully paid for, remain uncompleted and unused for years.
“Some of these projects in Dutse, Abeokuta, and other locations were awarded between 2011 and 2016 but yet to be completed according to audit reports,” the statement noted.
