The CBN and AMCON have not published audited financial statements since 2015

No one seems bothered by the lack of accountability at two critical institutions in the financial sector

In a conversation with a colleague today, I was reminded of how Nigeria is a dangerous place where institutions and people get away with acting against public interest and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Those who are best placed to demand for better by putting pressure on institutions just never do - it seems there is a deep commitment to ruin. However, there is only so much ruin in a nation.

The CBN and AMCON have not published audited financial statements since 2015 and it is shocking that this does not make the news more often.

These are public institutions that should be held accountable but how can this be done without audited accounts?

While some would argue that the CBN publishes other reports regularly, this is not enough. Anyone that has ever read its audited accounts would know that it offers a different kind of insight and it complements other sources of data. It’s the missing piece that would give analysts a comprehensive view of the CBN’s actions. Without it, you can speculate fairly well but there is nothing like cold, hard data.

This is precisely why the public is being kept in the dark. Since 2015, the CBN has expanded its powers (unconstitutionally) and ambition without checks. The consequences of its numerous misadventures have been devastating to the economy.

Some would disagree, and this is where policymakers get away with so much. They would say the high and persistent inflation is not the CBN’s fault but supply side issues as if they were blind to data that says otherwise. The same argument will be put forward to defend the FX crisis, crippling trade policies, development finance misadventures, and so on. When a patient dies due to negligence, doctors and hospitals are held accountable. When people die or become poor due to a senseless policy, policymakers are never held accountable. They say it is not an easy job but what is a job without consequences for failure?

Who would the CBN blame for what I suspect would be damaging financial statements? There will be no place to hide as the blame will be the management’s. These accounts must be published.

I recall that the NNPC faced scrutiny about its opaqueness until it started publishing financial statements - which is not perfect, but much better.

There is no reason AMCON (which had a lifetime of 10 years that should have expired in 2019) should get away with this either. Its mandate has expanded - with so many failed banks acquired since 2015 - but the manner in which it operates is still unclear. It’s a dead bank without any capital in 2015, I suspect it has gotten much worse - it is a useless place. What is clear is that banks continue to pay hundreds of billions of naira to the institution yearly.

Institutions forget too often, but we have a society that never helps them to remember. That is our story.

And many things have leaked in Nigeria - why have these audited accounts not been leaked?

Let me know what you think! And please share and subscribe.