A stormy session broke out in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as lawmakers debated a motion alleging that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) failed to remit more than N5.2 trillion in operating surpluses and over N11 trillion in revenue discrepancies between 2016 and 2022.
The motion was moved by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, PAC, Bamidele Salam, and was based on findings from the committee’s ongoing investigation into government revenues collected through the Remita platform as captured in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report.
According to the committee’s review, the CBN has an outstanding and undisputed liability of N5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surpluses owed to the federal government for the period covering 2016 to 2022.
The PAC also uncovered additional discrepancies, including N954,302,576.67 in charges collected by the CBN on Remita transactions but allegedly not refunded, a computed variation of N11,098,385,528.19 between the bank’s reported collections and the committee’s assessment, N3.28 billion due for refund when interest at the Monetary Policy Rate of 27.25 per cent is applied, and a total variance of N19.8 billion in figures submitted by the apex bank.
Tension rose sharply when a member from Kano, Rep Ghali Mustapha Tijanni, proposed an amendment calling for an ad hoc committee to take over the investigation.
The suggestion was immediately rejected by several lawmakers who argued that the Public Accounts Committee should continue handling the probe. The disagreement quickly escalated into shouting across the chamber, resulting in a rowdy scene as the Speaker struggled to keep the debate on track.
The atmosphere grew even more heated when Ahmed Jaha (Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza) introduced another amendment urging the House to summon the CBN governor and other relevant agencies to appear before the Public Accounts Committee. Some lawmakers attempted to shout down the amendment, creating near-chaos as voices clashed over the motion.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, visibly frustrated, repeatedly appealed for calm and reprimanded members for what he described as behaviour unbefitting of honourable lawmakers. He warned that they were “embarrassing the institution” and insisted that parliamentary procedure must be respected.
He cautioned specific lawmakers, including Mark Essiet and Kabir Maipalas, threatening disciplinary measures if the disorder persisted. He further stressed that voting on a motion was a routine parliamentary process and should not be treated as a source of conflict.
Once the relative order was restored, the Speaker restated Jaha’s proposed amendment, which was seconded by Akin Alabi (Oyo).
When the question was finally put to a vote, chants of “aye” and “nay” again echoed through the chamber, forcing the Speaker to repeat the question twice before announcing that the “aye” had carried the motion.
With the motion and the amendment adopted, the House resolved to summon the CBN governor and officials responsible for Remita revenue administration to appear before the Public Accounts Committee.
The committee is mandated to investigate the alleged non-remittance of federal revenue and discrepancies from 2015 to 2022 and to ensure compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the CBN Act, and other financial regulations.
