N5.2tn unremitted funds: Reps threaten arrest of CBN gov

Cardoso

The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives, comprising Public Accounts and Public Assets, probing 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, has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against the CBN governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso.

In a statement issued on Friday, jointly signed by Bamidele Salam and Ademorin Kuye, Chairmen, House Committees on Public Accounts and Public Assets, respectively, the Committee said it was exploring the option of arresting the CBN boss given his incessant shunning of the invitations extended to him to appear before the joint panel.

The statement clarified that 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 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 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.” Punch