CBN Fails To Account For $4.5bn In Foreign Reserves — Reports

CBN under scrutiny over $4.5 billion discrepancy in Nigeria's foreign reserves during Emefiele's tenure.

The Auditor-General of the Federation revealed shockingly that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is under investigation for its incapacity to explain away an astounding $4.5 billion that went missing from Nigeria's foreign reserves between 2018 and 2019.

This disparity was discovered by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF), exposing a sizable hole in the country's financial records for the designated time frame.

Nigeria's foreign reserves, which were valued at US$42,594,842,852.75 in December 2018 fell to US$38,092,720,200.72 by the end of 2019, as per the audit report. Serious questions concerning accountability and transparency within the CBN's operations are raised by this glaring cut of US$4,502,122,652.03.

The audit report links this infraction to poor financial management under Godwin Emefiele's leadership as the CBN Governor, especially in light of the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Section 25 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 requires the maintenance of external reserves at appropriate levels for the country's economic stability. Shaakaa Chira, the Auditor-General of the Federation, has called upon the CBN to provide a detailed explanation for the missing funds.

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In addition, the audit report noted an additional unsupported drop in foreign reserves of more than $8 billion between 2019 and 2020, suggesting a more serious systemic problem with the CBN's internal control procedures.

The Auditor-General stressed the importance of sound economic management and the necessity for the CBN to strengthen its internal control framework in order to reduce risks that could have a negative effect on the country's reserves and monetary stability.