The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, demanding a full public accounting of an alleged missing or diverted N3 trillion in public funds.
The organisation, in a letter yesterday signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, referenced the grave allegations documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s recently published 2022 annual report.
SERAP stated that the findings suggest grave violations of the public trust and a failure of CBN accountability that has undermined the bank’s ability to discharge its statutory functions.
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The organisation urged Cardoso to not only recover the missing funds but also identify those responsible and hand them over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for prosecution.
SERAP said the N3 trillion figure was drawn from several major financial irregularities highlighted in the Auditor-General’s report on the CBN’s 2022 operations.
According to the organisation, CBN allegedly failed to remit N1.45 trillion of the Federal Government’s share of its operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
SERAP added that the Auditor-General expressed concern that this money may have been diverted.
SERAP noted that the bank also reportedly failed to recover N629 billion paid to “unknown beneficiaries” under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, raising fears that the funds could have been diverted and potentially undermined national food security.
The organisation further stated that the CBN allegedly failed to recover N784.4 billion in 32 unpaid, overdue loans and interventions disbursed between 2018 and May 2022, with no evidence of adequate recovery efforts.
SERAP said the report further flagged N125.4 billion spent on “questionable intervention activities,” including those related to national security, without supporting documentation or apparent approval from the National Assembly.
The organisation added that the CBN reportedly spent N1.79 billion to purchase 43 operational vehicles for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), an expenditure the Auditor-General described as “unjustified” and unrelated to the bank’s core objectives.
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Additionally, SERAP said the audit report cited irregular contract variations totalling over N9 billion for 43 contracts, and the Katsina state branch’s failure to recover over N90 million in COVID-19 SME loans, with fears that the funds may have been diverted or mismanaged.
SERAP warned that failure to comply with its demands within seven days will lead to the group taking “all appropriate legal actions” to compel the CBN to provide the requested information and take remedial measures in the public interest.
