The N3 Trillion Void: SERAP’s Ultimatum Forces CBN Governor into a Seven-Day Fiscal Reckoning.

— A legal storm is brewing over Abuja’s financial landscape as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) faces a perilous seven-day countdown to account for a staggering N3 trillion void in public finances. The Socioeconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has cast a demanding spotlight on the apex bank, issuing a non-negotiable ultimatum to CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso: produce the money trail or face the courtroom. The demand is not speculative; it is rooted in the explosive findings of the 2022 Annual Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF). This document serves as a fiscal indictment, detailing not just monetary lapses but systemic accountability failures that could unravel the integrity of Nigeria’s financial regulatory architecture. Anatomy of the Missing Trillions. The sum of N3 trillion, nearly 4% of the nation’s 2024 budgetary proposal, is not a single missing bulk but a concatenation of severe fiscal queries. Its composition offers a chilling insight into the opaque practices that have historically plagued the CBN: The Un-remitted Surplus (N1.4 Trillion), of which the most significant portion relates to the alleged failure by the CBN to remit over N1.45 trillion of its operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). This is not merely an accounting error; it is a direct deprivation of critical funds meant to finance the federal budget. In a nation grappling with historic debt and persistent deficit financing, the withholding of statutory revenue on this scale represents a profound challenge to national economic stability. Perhaps the most alarming query involves N629 billion disbursed through the crucial Anchor Borrowers’ Programmer. The AuGF report reportedly flags this massive sum as payments made to "unknown beneficiaries." This fragment introduces a chilling element of suspense. Who were these anonymous recipients? The un-recovered debt suggests billions of Naira were sunk into non-existent or compromised projects, raising acute questions about potential collusion and the true success of one of the CBN's flagship interventions. A further N784 billion in intervention loans remains un-recovered. The central role of the CBN is to stabilize the economy, but its interventions risk morphing into a black hole of un-serviceable debt if such sums are simply written off the national ledger. SERAP's demand letter, signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, is more than a petition. It is a formal per-action notice. The seven-day period is a tight noose around the neck of the current CBN leadership. If Governor Cardoso fails to comply, SERAP has promised a full-scale legal assault, seeking court orders to compel accountability, identify and prosecute the officials responsible, and initiate the recovery of every diverted kobo. The CBN, under new leadership, is facing a moment of absolute clarity. The outcome of this week will determine not just the fate of an audit query, but whether the apex bank can successfully shed its historical image of fiscal opacity and rebuild the deeply fractured public trust. The Nigerian public waits, holding its breath for the next few days to see if the CBN can illuminate the N3 trillion void or if this is merely the opening salvo in a long, dark legal battle that promises to expose years of institutional malpractice. The silence from the CBN’s tower is deafening, hinting at an internal scramble to locate records that could prevent an unprecedented showdown; a moment when the custodian of the nation’s wealth must finally answer for its missing treasure. The clock is running.

| 2025-11-16 11:25:09