Reps panels summon Edun, Cardoso over audit reports, FRA breaches

The Joint Committees of the House of Representatives on Public Accounts and Public Assets have summoned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, over alleged violations of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, and issues flagged in the 2021 audit report by the Auditor General for the Federation.

In a letter jointly signed by Rep. Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, and Rep. Ademorin Kuye, Chairman of the Committee on Public Assets, the panels requested that the finance minister and CBN governor appear before them to provide explanations regarding the remittance of operating surpluses into the Federation Account, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Reports by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Auditor General for the Federation allege that several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the CBN, failed to remit—or under-remitted—their operating surpluses as mandated by financial regulations over the past six years.

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“These violations have negatively affected the liquidity of the federal government and pose a challenge to the effective implementation of budgets passed by the National Assembly,” Rep. Salam stated.

The committees noted that both the Ministry of Finance and the CBN were given ample opportunities to reconcile their accounts and clarify their positions in order to determine the extent of financial liabilities involved. The upcoming appearance is intended to serve as a final hearing to resolve the issues.

The panels are also reviewing parts of the Auditor General’s statutory report which reveal that several public assets, fully paid for years ago, remain incomplete and unused.

“Some of these projects, located in Dutse, Abeokuta, and other parts of the country, were awarded between 2011 and 2016 but have yet to be completed,” the committee noted.