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.”
The statement said following the submissions of the relevant stakeholders, the Joint Committee 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.”
The statement 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,” 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.”