A heated confrontation broke out in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as lawmakers disagreed sharply over which committee should question the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, on allegations that the apex bank failed to remit more than ₦16tn in government revenues.
The commotion followed the adoption of a motion titled “Non-remittance of over ₦5tn operating surplus and ₦11tn government revenue by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” sponsored by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam (Osun).
Salam urged the House to summon the CBN governor to explain the huge discrepancies and present concrete steps to ensure prompt repayment of all outstanding funds due to the Federal Government.
However, the motion quickly triggered disagreements. Ghali Tijani (Kano) moved an amendment for an ad-hoc committee to handle the investigation, supported by Mark Esset (Akwa Ibom). Their proposal was immediately opposed by Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno), who insisted the assignment constitutionally belongs to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has been probing similar financial irregularities for two years.
Jaha said the independence and authority of PAC must not be undermined for political or personal reasons.
“The sacrosanctity of this institution cannot, at whatever level of influence, be compromised because of the powerful nature of a head of an agency,” he declared.
“We are trying to strengthen him, not to undermine his committee… Let there be a resolution forcing and compelling the agency to appear before the Committee on Public Accounts, whether they like it or not.”
Sada Soli (Katsina) backed the PAC, arguing that it is the only committee expressly established by the Nigerian Constitution, and therefore cannot be sidelined. He said the allegations in the motion were “so damning” that the House must issue a direct summons—not a mere invitation—to Cardoso.
“This House should invoke Order 19, Rule 1 and Rule 2. We should summon him,” Soli insisted, faulting the CBN governor for ignoring previous invitations.
Babajimi Benson (Lagos) later proposed a multi-committee ad-hoc panel made up of the Committees on Finance, Banking Regulation, and Public Accounts, but the chamber rejected the idea. The rowdy session continued until Tijani withdrew his amendment. The House subsequently adopted Jaha’s revised proposal to summon Cardoso and relevant agencies to appear before PAC without fail.
During the debate, Salam released fresh details from PAC’s ongoing investigation into the Auditor-General’s 2022 Report and the CBN’s management of the Remita Revenue Collection System between March 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016.
He revealed that:
- The CBN is owing ₦5.2tn in unpaid operating surpluses from 2016–2022.
- The bank collected ₦954m in Remita charges but refunded ₦0, leaving a discrepancy with accrued interest amounting to ₦3.28bn.
- A migration discrepancy of ₦2.68tn remains outstanding and payable to the Federal Government’s Asset Recovery Account.
Cumulatively, according to the committee, the CBN owes over ₦11tn due to multiple financial infractions and unexplained revenue gaps.
Salam lamented that despite repeated letters and formal invitations, the CBN governor has refused to appear before PAC or remit the disputed funds.
The Public Accounts Committee—constitutionally empowered to scrutinise the Auditor-General’s findings—has in recent years intensified investigations into revenue leakages and unremitted funds across ministries, departments, and agencies. Its current probe of the CBN forms part of a wider push to restore financial discipline, recover public funds, and enforce compliance among major revenue-generating institutions.
