CBN failed to publish annual financial statements since 2022 despite legal requirement.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has yet to publish its annual financial statements since the 2022 financial year, despite provisions in the CBN Act mandating the apex bank to release its audited accounts every year.
A review of the CBN’s official website by NewsOnline on Thursday showed that the latest publicly available annual report and financial statements remain those for 2022.
Under Section 50 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, the apex bank is required to prepare, submit and publish its audited financial statements annually.
Specifically, Section 50(1) mandates the CBN to submit its certified annual accounts to the President and the National Assembly within two months after the end of each financial year.
Section 50(2) further requires that the annual report be published in a manner directed by the CBN Governor, while Section 50(3) directs the CBN Board to ensure the accounts are published in the Federal Government Gazette as soon as possible.
Despite these statutory obligations, the apex bank has not publicly released its financial statements for 2023, 2024 or 2025.
Reacting to the development, financial analyst Kalu Aja questioned the delay in a post on X.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria, which requires annual returns from banks in Nigeria, has not published an Annual Report and Statement of Account since 2022,” he wrote.
The development comes nearly three years after the CBN, on August 11, 2023, published its consolidated financial statements covering seven years, marking the first such disclosure since 2015.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Olayemi Cardoso as CBN Governor on September 15, 2023, following the removal of former Governor Godwin Emefiele in June 2023.
Emefiele is currently facing multiple corruption-related charges in court.
Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the final forfeiture of several properties and $2.045 million linked to the former CBN governor to the Federal Government.
