The joint committee is investigating alleged violations of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Finance Act 2020, particularly the remittance of operating surpluses and the management of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Public Assets has issued warning to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, threatening to invoke a warrant of arrest over his repeated failure to honour invitations.
In a statement jointly signed on Friday by Bamidele Salam and Ademorin Kuye, Chairmen of the Public Accounts and Public Assets Committees, the lawmakers said they were considering arresting the CBN boss for “his incessant shunning of the invitations extended to him to appear before the joint panel.”
The joint committee is investigating alleged violations of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Finance Act 2020, particularly the remittance of operating surpluses and the management of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
“The Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, in performance of its constitutional mandate reported to the House of Representatives a liability of N5.2tn in operating surplus due to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the year ended 2016 to 2022; a claim corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate report to the National Assembly,” the statement said.
It added, “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.”
According to the Committee, “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 Attorney General and Minister of Justice had legally clarified that the Finance Act 2020 governs such funds under the oversight of a governing council.
The committee further 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 is expected to provide the Joint Committee 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,” it stated.
The committee lamented, “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,” warning it would be “Compelled to make him appear in line with the powers vested in it by the 1999 Constitution.”
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