The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Public Assets has expressed frustration over the failure of the Central Bank Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, to honour repeated invitations to clarify issues surrounding the non-remittance of operating surplus and the handling of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
In a statement jointly signed on Friday by the Chairmen of the Committees, Bamidele Salam and Ademorin Kuye, the lawmakers warned that they are considering invoking constitutional powers to issue a warrant of arrest on the CBN governor for repeatedly shunning their invitations.
According to the committee, “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,” adding that the claim was “corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate report to the National Assembly.”
The lawmakers cited the Finance Act 2020, which they said mandates that dividends of all listed companies in Nigeria that remain unclaimed for six years or more, as well as balances on accounts 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.”
They also noted that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation had, in a legal opinion, affirmed that the Finance Act 2020 is the prevailing law governing the control and management of dormant account balances—contrary to the position of the CBN, which had argued that the Financial Institution Act 2020 empowers it to manage such funds.
Following the submissions of 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 further directed the apex bank to provide a detailed breakdown of total unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances on or before June 30, 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 ordered.
However, the committee lamented that despite these clear resolutions, “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,” warning that it would be “compelled to make him appear in line with the powers vested in it by the 1999 Constitution.”
