Reps threaten CBN gov’s arrest for shunning invites
The House of Representatives has threatened to issued a warrant of arrest against the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, for shunning its invitations.
Cardoso was accused of failing to appear before the house’s joint committee probing the CBN’s alleged non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Finance Act 2020 on the remittance of operating surplus and management of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
The joint committee comprise Public Accounts and Public Assets, chaired by Bamidele Salam and Ademorin Kuye, respectively.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by Salam and Kuye, the committee said it was exploring the option of arresting Cardoso on what it described as incessant shunning of the invitations extended to him to appear before the joint panel.
The committee clarified that the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, in performance of its constitutional mandate, reported to the House a liability of N5.2tn in operating surplus due to the Federal Government for the year ended 2016 to 2022; a claim corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate report to the National Assembly.
“The Finance Act 2020 mandates that dividends of all listed companies in Nigeria which remained unclaimed for six years or more and balances on accounts which have been dormant for six years in Deposit Money Banks shall be transferred into an established fund called Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund which is to be administered by the Governing Council Comprising the Minister of Finance and Debt Management Office among others,” the statement read in part.
According to the committee, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, through a legal opinion, confirmed that the Finance Act 2020 which established the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund is the relevant law for the control and management of dormant account balances under the oversight of the Governing Council “Contrary to the position of the CBN that the Financial Institution Act of 2020 gives it the power to manage and control balances of dormant accounts.”
The committee said following the submissions of the relevant stakeholders, it resolved that “the Central Bank of Nigeria should remit the sum of N3.64tn being 70% of undisputed Unpaid Operating Surplus of N5.2tn within 14 days commencing from the date of the receipt of the said letter (June 27, 2025); pending the final reconciliation of disputed figures by all parties.”
It added that the apex bank was expected to provide it with the total sum of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances on or before 30th June, 2025.
“The CBN should ensure that all unclaimed dividends and funds in the dormant accounts balances as defined above are transferred to the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund account as provided by the Finance Act 2020, within 14 days of the receipt of the letter and receipt of the transfer be furnished to the House,” the committee stated.
The Committee lamented that “Despite the unambiguous resolution, the CBN governor has failed to comply with the resolution and refused to appear before the committee to explain why he failed to do so,” stressing that it would be “Compelled to make him appear in line with the powers vested in it by the 1999 Constitution.”
