…summon bank CEOs over alleged illegal charges
By Seun Ibiyemi
The House of Representatives has summoned Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside other relevant agencies, to appear before its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, December 16, to explain the non-remittance of over ₦16 trillion in government revenue.
The decision follows a motion moved by Bamidele Salam, chairman of PAC, during plenary on Wednesday.
Salam revealed that the committee, while investigating the Auditor General’s Report for the 2022 financial year and the administration of the Remita Revenue Collection System covering March 2015 to April 2016, uncovered significant discrepancies in the remittance of federal government funds.
The PAC report identified an undisputed liability of ₦5.2 trillion in unpaid operating surpluses owed by the CBN for the years 2016 to 2022.
Additionally, refunds of collected charges totalling over ₦3.28 billion remain unreturned, while a difference of ₦11.1 trillion was found between the CBN’s claimed total collections and PAC’s computed figures from the same data.
The committee also discovered a migration discrepancy amounting to ₦2.69 trillion payable to the Federal Government’s Assets Recovery Account.
Salam lamented that despite repeated formal communications and invitations extended to the CBN governor to provide explanations and remit the outstanding amounts, the central bank has failed to comply.
He noted that the non-remittance comes at a time of severe revenue shortages, rising insecurity, and urgent developmental needs, stressing that the prompt recovery of all government funds is critical for national stability and economic sustainability.
The House adopted the motion, resolving that the CBN governor must appear before the PAC on December 16, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., to provide explanations and present a concrete plan for the immediate payment of all outstanding amounts into designated federal government accounts.
Meanwhile, the house on Wednesday degenerated into a rowdy session as lawmakers exchanged heated arguments over which committee should probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the alleged non-remittance of more than ₦16 trillion in government revenue.
The uproar erupted moments after a motion moved by Bamidele Salam, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), alleging that the CBN failed to remit over ₦5 trillion in operating surplus and an additional ₦11 trillion in government revenue, contrary to provisions of extant laws governing public finance.
The verbal exchange began after an amendment was proposed that instead of allowing only Public Accounts Committee to continue the probe, the House should establish a special ad-hoc committee comprising members of the PAC and other finance-related committees.
The amendment quickly split the chamber, as some lawmakers argued that creating a new panel would undermine the mandate and independence of PAC, which is constitutionally empowered to scrutinise public expenditure.
Others insisted that the financial magnitude of the allegation required a broader inquiry involving multiple committees, to avoid leaving such a sensitive probe to a single panel.
Ghali Tijani, moved for the amendment that an ad-hoc committee should be set up purposely to focus on the subject, and report to the House where necessary.
Babajimi Benson, who seconded the amendment, propsoed that the ad-hoc committee should be populated by members of committees on Public accounts, Banking, and Finance. He said populating the committee is not to undermine the authority of PAC, but to strengthen it.
But Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of the House interrupted and said the constituents of the ad-hoc committee is not of immediate priority as that could be decided later. This further sparked more heated exchanges and arguments, with some members screaming “we cannot populate the committee.”
“We are trying to strengthen him (Bamidele, mover of the motion, who also chairs PAC), not undermine his committee” Benson argued.
Another Lawmaker, Olumide Osoba argued, “the Public Accounts Committee is a constitutional committee, and its duty are clearly stated in our rule book. And the Public Accounts Committee, being a constitutional committee, should be allowed to conclude its job.”
Every attempt by Abbas to restore order in the House was futile. “Please, maintain orderliness now. Maintain orderliness now”, Abbas yelled repeatedly, but the uproar and arguments only persisted for about an hour.
Eventually, Tijani was forced to withdraw his ammendment for the establishment of an ad-hoc committee, but that did not calm the chaos as arguments persisted over whether the CBN governor should appear before the entire House or the Public Accounts Committee only.
Also, Chief executive officers of commercial banks have been directed to appear in person before an investigative panel of the House of Representatives over alleged illegal and unexplained deductions from customers’ bank accounts.
The summons was issued in Abuja by the House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the deduction of taxes from civil and public servants’ earnings and bank charges on customers’ accounts.
Commercial banks deduct various charges from customers’ accounts, including SMS charges, Maintenance charges, and transfer charges, among others.
Speaking during the panel session, Committee Chairman, Rep. Kelechi Nwogu, accused commercial banks of engaging in systematic and unlawful deductions, including charges that are neither transparent nor remitted to the appropriate authorities.
“Commercial banks are perpetrating illegality by deducting inexplicable charges from civil servants, public servants and other customers’ bank accounts without remittances,” Nwogu said.
He noted that banks routinely deduct a range of charges such as SMS alerts, account maintenance fees, and transfer charges, raising concerns over the legality, transparency, and utilisation of such funds.
Reiterating the committee’s mandate, Nwogu said the investigation would ensure that all deductions imposed by banks are properly authorised, correctly computed, and appropriately utilised.
“Our mandate is clear. All deductions or charges must be deducted rightly, fined rightly, and used rightly,” he said.
He also disclosed that the committee had extended invitations to the Ministry of Finance and would work closely with the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and commercial banks operating in Nigeria to ensure a thorough probe.
The committee chairman firmly rejected any attempt by banks to send representatives instead of their chief executives, stressing that the CEOs themselves must appear unfailingly before the panel.
You cannot appear here without an identity. We are not here on our own. We are here on the mandate of the people that elected us into parliament,” Nwogu said.
He added: “We have resolved to meet next week Wednesday. You must submit all requested documents on or before Monday. We will go through all the documents and we will put you on oath.”
The committee issued a four-day ultimatum to all banks involved to submit the relevant documents required for the investigation.
According to Nwogu, any bank that fails to comply with the directive by Monday will face sanctions.
The House panel, he said, is determined to leave no stone unturned in uncovering the reasons behind what it described as spurious and unjustified deductions from customers’ accounts.