SERAP Gives CBN Governor Seven Days to Explain Alleged N3tn Financial Breaches
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, demanding a full explanation for what it describes as “missing or diverted N3 trillion in public funds,” flagged in the 2022 report of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The organisation, in a letter dated November 15 and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the audit findings—released publicly on September 9, 2025—point to serious violations of financial regulations, constitutional provisions, and the CBN Act. It urged Cardoso to disclose those responsible for the alleged financial irregularities, hand them over to anti-corruption agencies, and recover all questionable funds.
SERAP warned that the Auditor-General’s observations raise concerns about declining trust in the country’s apex bank.
“These violations have seriously undermined the ability of the CBN to effectively discharge its statutory functions, while eroding public confidence in the institution,” the organisation said.
According to SERAP’s summary, the audit report questioned several financial gaps, including the non-remittance of more than N1.4 trillion in operating surplus, the failure to recover N629 billion disbursed to “unknown beneficiaries” under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, and the non-recovery of N784 billion in overdue intervention loans.
The Auditor-General, as quoted by SERAP, noted that the bank “failed to remit over N1,445,593,400,000.00 of the Federal Government’s portion of operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.”
He also queried disbursements under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, stating that the identities of many beneficiaries remained unclear.
In addition, the report flagged over N125 billion spent on “questionable intervention activities” without proper documentation, and criticised the CBN’s use of more than N1.7 billion to purchase operational vehicles for the Nigeria Immigration Service—an expenditure the Auditor-General said had “no connection with the objectives of the CBN.”
SERAP reminded the Central Bank that it is constitutionally obligated to account for public funds and emphasised that Nigerians have the right to know how their money is managed.
The group warned that it would initiate legal proceedings if the bank fails to respond within the stipulated seven-day deadline.
