The Joint House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts and Public Assets has summoned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, to appear before it on Monday, June 16, 2025.

 

The summons relates to alleged violations of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, and concerns about internal control weaknesses flagged in the 2021 reports by the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation.

 

In a letter jointly signed on Saturday by Hon. Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, and Hon. Ademorin Kuye, Chairman of the Committee on Public Assets, the lawmakers requested that the officials provide comprehensive details on the remittance of operating surplus to the Federation Account by the CBN, as required by relevant financial laws and regulations.

 

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor General for the Federation had earlier submitted reports indicating that several Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), including the CBN, had failed to remit or under-remitted their operating surpluses over the past six years, contrary to statutory obligations.

 

According to Hon. Salam,

 

“These violations have negatively impacted the liquidity of the Federal Government and constitute a hindrance to effective implementation of the budgets passed by Parliament.”

 

 

 

The committees noted that the Finance Ministry and the CBN had been given ample time to reconcile accounts and present their positions, with the upcoming hearing expected to be a final step in determining the scope of liabilities and ensuring compliance.

 

In addition, the lawmakers will review findings from the Auditor General’s statutory report, which alleged that several publicly funded projects—fully paid for—remain uncompleted and unused years after their award. Some of these abandoned assets are located in Dutse, Abeokuta, and other parts of the country, with project contracts reportedly awarded between 2011 and 2016.

 

The Joint Committee emphasized that it is committed to enforcing accountability in public finance and asset management in line with its constitutional mandate.