Economist Kelvin Emmanuel has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under the leadership of Governor Olayemi Cardoso, to promptly release its financial statement for the year 2023. Emmanuel made this request through his official X handle on Wednesday.

He highlighted that this call aligns with the CBN Act of 2007, which mandates that the apex bank must submit its annual accounts, certified by an auditor, to both the National Assembly and the President.

Emmanuel emphasized the importance of making these accounts public to assess the improvements in the CBN’s balance sheet. This includes scrutinizing the differences between the gross and net external reserves, as well as the impact of FX swaps and forwards involving external asset managers.

Furthermore, Emmanuel pointed out that it is crucial for Nigerians to have transparency regarding the details of loans related to foreign exchange (FX) currency positions held by banks on behalf of their customers.

Additionally, there should be clarity on the FX non-deliverable forwards that banks have with the CBN for their customers.

He referenced Sections 50(1) and 50(3) of the CBN Act, which stipulate that the bank must submit its annual accounts to the National Assembly and the President within two months after the end of each financial year, and ensure these accounts are published in the Gazette as soon as possible.

It is worth noting that in August 2023, the CBN had released its financial statements for the period 2016-2022, following a probe led by Jim Obazee into the activities of the bank under the former governor, Godwin Emefiele.

This scrutiny had led the Auditor General of the Federation to request an explanation for a missing $4.5 billion in Nigeria’s foreign reserves between 2018 and 2019.