The House of Representatives Joint Committees on Public Accounts and Public Assets have threatened to issue a warrant of arrest for the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Michael Cardoso, over what they described as persistent disregard for legislative summons and non-compliance with resolutions on the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Finance Act 2020.
Dockaysworld reports that Mr Cardoso, who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in September 2023 and confirmed by the Senate the following month, is under scrutiny for allegedly failing to remit over ₦5.2 trillion in operating surplus accrued between 2016 and 2022, as revealed by the Auditor-General for the Federation.
The report was backed by a separate submission from the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, the chairmen of the committees, Hon. Bamidele Salam (Public Accounts) and Hon. Ademorin Kuye (Public Assets), said the CBN governor has consistently ignored invitations to appear before the committees, despite being at the centre of serious financial accountability issues. The lawmakers warned that failure to honour legislative directives could no longer be tolerated.
According to the lawmakers, the Finance Act 2020 provides that unclaimed dividends and dormant balances in deposit money banks, which have remained idle for over six years, must be transferred to an Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund managed by a governing council chaired by the Minister of Finance and the Debt Management Office.
Despite this provision, the CBN has reportedly continued to rely on the Financial Institutions Act 2020 to justify its retention of such funds. However, the Attorney-General of the Federation, in a legal opinion, affirmed that the Finance Act 2020 is the relevant law, a position upheld by the committees.
Following consultations with financial stakeholders, the joint committee, in a resolution dated June 27, 2025, ordered the CBN to remit ₦3.64 trillion—amounting to 70 percent of the undisputed operating surplus—within 14 days, pending the final reconciliation of the full ₦5.2 trillion. The apex bank was also instructed to provide a full disclosure of all unclaimed dividends and dormant balances by June 30, 2025, and transfer all eligible sums to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund within another 14 days.
However, the committees lamented that Mr Cardoso has neither complied with the resolutions nor appeared before them to provide an explanation.
They warned that unless the CBN Governor honours the next summons, the National Assembly would invoke its powers under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Standing Orders of the House to compel his appearance through lawful means, including an arrest warrant.
