Apex Bank Faces Questions Over Delay in Releasing Audited Accounts
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not published its annual financial statements since the 2022 financial year, despite legal provisions requiring the release of its audited accounts every year.
A review of the apex bank’s official website shows that the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statements remain the latest publicly available records.
Under Section 50 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, the CBN is required to prepare, audit, submit, and publish its annual financial statements. The law mandates the bank to forward its certified accounts to the President and the National Assembly within two months after the end of each financial year and ensure they are subsequently made public, The News Edition reports.
Despite these statutory obligations, the bank has yet to publish financial statements for the years following 2022.
Reacting to the development, financial analyst Kalu Aja noted on X that the regulator, which requires commercial banks to submit annual financial reports, has itself not released its own audited accounts since 2022.
The CBN had previously published consolidated financial statements covering seven years in August 2023, marking its first such disclosure since 2015.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Olayemi Cardoso as Governor of the Central Bank on September 15, 2023, after the removal of former Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele is currently facing corruption-related charges in court. Last week, the Supreme Court also ordered the final forfeiture of some of his properties and $2.045 million in cash.