CBN flouts laws, withholds annual report

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has violated the provisions of the CBN Act by withholding its annual reports.

When The Guardian reviewed the CBN website on Monday morning, it was discovered that the apex bank had published financial documents for only eight years between 2000 and 2016. Financial statements for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, and 2013 were missing. Additionally, annual reports for the years 2016 to 2024 were not available on the website.

Other sources, however, reported that the apex bank had published a consolidated financial statement detailing its financial activities between 2016 and 2022 in August 2023.

The CBN annual reports are financial documents detailing the bank’s financial statements, such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, providing insights into Nigeria’s economic performance.

The CBN Act mandates the apex bank to submit audited copies of its annual reports to the President and the National Assembly within two months after the close of each financial year.

Subsections 1, 2, and 3 of Section 50 of the CBN Act 2007 state:

“The Bank shall, within two months after the close of each financial year, transmit to the National Assembly and the President a copy of its annual accounts certified by the Auditor.”

“A report required to be submitted to the National Assembly and the President shall be published by the bank in such manner as the Governor may direct.”

“The board shall ensure that accounts submitted pursuant to this section shall, as soon as possible, be published in the gazette.”

Dr. Temitope Adamson, a lecturer of Economics at the School of Basic and Advanced Studies, Lagos State University, told The Guardian that many government agencies are guilty of delaying the publication of their annual reports, often to avoid public criticism.

“Most government agencies usually delay the publication of their annual reports. They do that sometimes to avoid criticism. They know that when they release it, people scrutinise it, and in the process of scrutiny, many of their activities will be exposed,” he said.

Adamson also noted that the CBN’s annual reports are crucial for making economic decisions and policies in Nigeria. While emphasizing their importance, he explained that the reports would reveal how Nigeria’s economy performed in 2023 and aid stakeholders in projecting the economic outlook for 2024.

However, he stated that the delay in publishing the reports may not significantly deter investors, as they rely on macroeconomic variables to guide their decisions.

“The report would have been a comprehensive document to show how the economy performed in 2023 and help us gain insight into 2024. Investors will always consider macroeconomic variables such as the inflation rate. These variables are readily available on the internet.

“This is not to downplay the importance of publishing the annual report, but the CBN has enacted other policies and measures that are concrete enough to motivate investors to invest in the economy.”