The Auditor-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Shaaka Chira has demanded accountability from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regarding an elusive $4.5 billion within the country’s foreign reserves.
The call for clarification stems from an audit report released by the Office of the Accountant General, revealing an unexplained deficit in Nigeria’s foreign reserves during the 2018-2019 period.
The annual audit report meticulously examines the financial activities of government ministries, departments, and agencies, providing a detailed overview of expenditures in a given fiscal year.
According to the report, Nigeria’s foreign reserves, totaling US$42,594,842,852.75 in December 2018, experienced a notable decline to US$38,092,720,200.72 by 2019. A discernible gap of US$4,502,122,652.03 raises concerns about financial transparency.
This breach coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and occurred under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the CBN, who currently faces corruption allegations in court.
Auditor-General Chira has emphasized the imperative for the CBN to provide a plausible explanation for this substantial financial discrepancy.
The audit report underscores that failure to justify the missing funds may endanger the stability of the exchange rate, invoking Section 25 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, which mandates the bank to maintain external reserves at levels deemed suitable for the national economy and monetary system.
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