There was a rowdy session on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday as lawmakers debated a motion alleging the non-remittance of more than N5.2 trillion in operating surpluses and N11 trillion in revenue discrepancies by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, between 2016 and 2022.
The motion, moved by the Chairman of the Public Account Committee, Bamidele Salam, relied on findings from the Public Accounts Committee, PAC, which is currently investigating government revenues collected through the Remita platform as captured in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report.
The review of the PAC showed that the CBN has an undisputed liability of N5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surpluses due to the Federal Government for the years 2016–2022.
Further discrepancies uncovered include: N954,302,576.67 in charges collected by the CBN on Remita transactions but allegedly not refunded; a PAC-computed variation of N11,098,385,528.19 between the CBN’s reported collections and the committee’s own calculation from the same dataset; N3.28 billion total amount due for refund when interest at the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, of 27.25% is applied and a total variance of N19.8 billion in figures submitted by the apex bank.
Trouble began when a member from Kano, Rep Ghali Mustapha Tijanni, moved for an amendment for an adhoc committee to handle the investigation.
However, the amendment did not go down well with members who said the investigation should be handled by the Public Account Committee.
The development led to an argument and rowdy session with lawmakers in a shouting match while the Speaker tried to restore order.
Ahmed Jaha (Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza) moved an amendment to Salam’s motion, urging the House to summon the CBN governor and all relevant agencies to appear before the Public Accounts Committee.
The amendment immediately sparked vocal objections from some lawmakers who attempted to shout it down leading to a near-chaotic atmosphere.
The Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen who presided over the session, warned members against “embarrassing” the institution saying, “You are shouting as if putting the question will take away a right that belongs to you. This is not the behaviour of an honourable member. We are before the world seeing us.”
The Speaker warned some lawmakers, including Mark Esset and Kabir Maipalas, threatening disciplinary action if the disorder continued.
Abbas stressed that there was nothing controversial about calling for a vote and urged members to abide by parliamentary procedure.
After restoring order, Abbas restated Jaha’s proposed amendment. Akin Alabi (Oyo) seconded the motion.
Rowdy session as Reps clash over probe of CBN’s alleged N16.3tn non-remittance
