Reps probe CBN, NNPC over billions in unpaid govt revenues

Nigeria's House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has intensified its investigation into revenue remittances by federal agencies. The committee has directed the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to provide a detailed account of outstanding operating surplus and other revenues allegedly owed to the Federal Government by key entities like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

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Considering our GDP, ours is one of the lowest on the continent, at about 16 per cent. Business entities are expected to return about 80 per cent of their operating surplus, while others remit between 20 and 50 per cent.

Further concerns were raised regarding allegations that the OAGF deducted funds from the statutory accounts of various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Specifically, the committee is demanding an explanation for a reported N15 billion withdrawal from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), questioning how such practices might hinder these agencies from fulfilling their mandates.

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From everything we are seeing, there still appears to be a backlog of remittances. Can you provide some figures? Beyond that, as a member of the economic management team, how satisfied are you with the performance of agencies such as the CBN, SEC, NIMASA, and others, considering the scale of assets they manage?

During an investigative hearing, lawmakers expressed alarm over Nigeria's persistently weak revenue performance, attributing it partly to poor remittance compliance by government-owned enterprises. The Fiscal Responsibility Act mandates these entities to remit a percentage of their operating surplus. A committee member noted that Nigeria's GDP is low compared to other African nations, and questioned the declared surpluses against the assets managed by agencies like the CBN, SEC, and NIMASA. The Director of Revenue and Investment at the OAGF disclosed that the CBN alone allegedly owes the Federal Government N5.3 trillion in unremitted operating surplus, a figure that previous committee efforts have failed to recover.

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It is not enough to say they remitted 80 per cent of their surpluses. What exactly is the surplus they are declaring? We need to examine that against the assets under their control, as well as the revenues they ought to have paid but have not.