Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has countered all the accusations tabled against the bank by the Nigerian Senate over the refusal to remit to the Consolidated Revenue Fund regularly.
Taking the Governor’s place to convince the Senate was the Deputy Governor of the bank, Dr Kingsley Obiora, overseeing CBN’s Economic Policy.
He spoke at the Senate Committee on Finance gathering on Wednesday during a public hearing on his 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure and Fiscal Strategy Paper panel.
The CBN Governor challenged the Senate Committee Chairman’sChairman’s allegations of non-remittance and of worsening the current dwindling revenues in the country by the apex bank.
He said, “I want to, with due respect and deep reverence, categorically state that the allegation that the CBN has not remitted surpluses in any year, let alone the last five years, is 100 per cent not correct.
Emefiele noted that the bank under his watch had remitted surpluses in the last five years according to the constituted law.
As a responsible government agency, he stressed that CBN follows the Fiscal Responsibility Act and remits 80 per cent of the surpluses annually.
Meanwhile, concluding his submission, Senator Solomon Adeola, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, ordered the CBN to present documentation evidence of its remittances in the previous five years by Friday.
He also demanded that the central bank release its audited financial statements for the previous five years and its monetary policy position paper.