The House of Representatives on Thursday unveiled plans to investigate the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over allegations bothering on mismanagement of funds and non-disclosure of details of Interest on investments from the Excess Crude oil/Petroleum ProfitsTax/Royalty Account from 2015 to date.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Esosa Iyawe, who underscored the need for accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.
In his lead debate, Hon. Iyawe observed that CBN which serves as the banker to the Federal Government’s Banker and custodian of investment vehicles, including the Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT) and the Excess Crude Account (ECA), among others, ought to live above board.
“The House is concerned that the 2015 Annual Report of the Auditor-General for the Federation showed that an interest of USD1,829,025.45 was deposited in the Excess Crude Account as interest on Investments, but there were no details as regards the principal sums deposited, the tenor and the interest rate.
“The House is also concerned that the CBN has flagrantly and consistently refused the requests by the Auditor General for the Federation to disclose the details regarding the management of interests accruing from the Petroleum Profit tax (PPT)/Royalty and Foreign Excess Crude Account.
“The House is further concerned about reports which revealed unapproved and indiscriminate withdrawals from the ECA, including current year expenditures, fuel subsidies, debt financing and power projects, all of which are outside the fund’s mandate.
“The House is disturbed that the 2016 audit report revealed the disappearance of over $9.5 million interest accrued from the Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) Investment.
“The House is also disturbed that obscurity has consistently characterized the management of interests accruing on Federal Government investments, which is in contravention of the accountability principle, and points
to misuse much-needed government funds.
“The House is further disturbed that the ECA has been riddled with controversy, allegations of corruption, and uncertain performance, and its absence of rules governing deposits, withdrawals and investments led to the Natural Resource Governance Institute ranking Nigeria as the second-most poorly governed fund among 34 resource-rich nations.
“The House is worried that over the years, the ECA has consistently borne allegations of mismanagement along with a barrage of lawsuits challenging its legality as there is no law backing it.
“The House is also worried that experts have raised concerns several times over ECA’s balances which seem to change at will without any corresponding evidence of withdrawals or approvals of such withdrawals.
“The House is further worried that the lack of transparency from the CBN has significantly affected the revenue
accruable to the Federation Account, as well as undermines the Federal Government’s efforts to plug leakages, reduce corruption, and improve revenue for the Federation.”
To this end, the House urged the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria to disclose without further delay, and following the required format, all the interests and principal sums on the investments in the Excess Crude Oil/Petroleum Profits tax/Royalty Account to the Auditor-General for the Federation’s Office.
In the bid to ensure proper engagement, the House resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to determine the legality of the Excess Crude Account and investigate the status and management of all the principal sums deposited tenor, and interest rate of the petroleum profits tax/royalty and excess crude account from 2015 to date.
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