A heated session unfolded in the House of Representatives on Tuesday following revelations that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) allegedly failed to remit over ₦5.2 trillion in operating surpluses and is linked to ₦11 trillion in unresolved revenue discrepancies tied to the Remita payment platform.
The commotion erupted after Hon. Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), presented findings from the Auditor-General’s 2022 report, which examined transactions from March 2015 to April 2016.
The report flagged massive shortfalls, unexplained variances, and missing balances running into trillions of naira.
Tensions escalated when Rep. Mustapha Tijjani Ghali moved that the investigation be withdrawn from PAC and reassigned to a special ad-hoc committee, arguing that the weight of the allegations required broader oversight.
His suggestion was immediately rejected by several lawmakers, led by Rep. Ahmed Jaha, who insisted that PAC was constitutionally empowered to continue its probe.
What followed was an uproar: shouting, counter-shouting, gesturing, and near-physical confrontation, forcing proceedings to halt for over 15 minutes.
Order returned only after the intervention of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who sternly cautioned members, swearing in Allah’s name, that he would punish anyone attempting to plunge the chamber into disorder.
He reminded the House of its duty to handle matters of national financial concern with caution and integrity.
Once calm was restored, lawmakers revisited the substance of PAC’s revelations:
- CBN reportedly owes the Federal Government ₦5.2 trillion in unremitted surpluses from 2016 to 2022.
- PAC reported a huge gap between the CBN’s declared collections (₦8.736 billion) and the independently computed total (₦19.834 billion), showing a shortfall of ₦11.098 billion.
- During the CBN’s internal core banking system upgrade, PAC discovered an unaccounted ₦2.686 trillion “take-on” balance.
With accrued interest calculated using the current Monetary Policy Rate (27.25%), the total due was assessed at ₦3.283 billion.
The House expressed frustration that CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and senior executives repeatedly ignored PAC’s summons despite the severity of the findings.
Lawmakers said withholding such enormous revenue at a time of fiscal stress, heightened insecurity, and economic pressure was reckless and harmful to national stability.
Following deliberations, the House resolved, through a voice vote, to summon Cardoso to appear next Tuesday.
He is expected to explain the non-remittance of all identified funds; reconcile the ₦11 trillion revenue discrepancies; account for the ₦5.2 trillion operating surplus shortfall; address the missing ₦2.686 trillion system migration balance and provide a firm timeline for remitting outstanding monies into government accounts.
