A rowdy session broke out on the floor of the Nigerian House of Representatives on Wednesday as lawmakers debated a motion alleging the non-remittance of over ₦5.2 trillion in operating surpluses and ₦11 trillion in revenue discrepancies linked to the Central Bank of Nigeria between 2016 and 2022.

The motion was moved by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, and relied on findings from PAC’s current investigation into government revenues collected through the Remita platform, as captured in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report.

According to PAC’s review, the CBN has an undisputed liability of ₦5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surpluses due to the Federal Government for the years 2016–2022.

Further discrepancies uncovered include: ₦954,302,576.67 in charges collected by the CBN on Remita transactions but allegedly not refunded; A PAC-computed variation of ₦11,098,385,528.19 between the CBN’s reported collections and the committee’s own calculation from the same dataset; ₦3.28 billion total amount due for refund when interest at the Monetary Policy Rate of 27.25% is applied; and a total variance of ₦19.8 billion in figures submitted by the apex bank.

Trouble began when a member from Kano, Rep Ghali Mustapha Tijanni, moved for an amendment to have an ad hoc committee handle the investigation.

However, the amendment was met with strong opposition from members who insisted the investigation should be handled by the already established Public Accounts Committee of the House. This development led to an argument and a rowdy session, with lawmakers engaging in a shouting match while the Speaker struggled to restore order.

Hon. Ahmed Jaha (Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza) later moved an amendment to Salam’s original motion, urging the House to summon the CBN Governor and all relevant agencies to appear specifically before the Public Accounts Committee. This amendment immediately sparked vocal objections from some lawmakers who attempted to shout it down, leading to a near-chaotic atmosphere.

The Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, who presided over the session, struggled to maintain order and issued a strongly worded reprimand to the lawmakers for their conduct. He warned members against “embarrassing the institution,” saying: “You are shouting as if putting the question will take away a right that belongs to you. This is not the behaviour of an honourable member. We are before the world seeing us.”

He cautioned specific lawmakers, including Hon. Mark Esset and Hon. Kabir Maipalas, threatening disciplinary action if the disorder continued, stating, “If you don’t stop this behaviour… we will take you to ethics. I do not want to set an example in this House, but you are forcing me to.” The Speaker stressed that there was nothing controversial about calling for a vote and urged members to abide by parliamentary procedure.

After restoring order, Abbas restated Jaha’s proposed amendment, which was seconded by Hon. Akin Alabi (Oyo). When the question was eventually put to a vote, shouts of “aye” and “nay” again rang across the chamber, forcing the Speaker to repeat the question twice before the “aye” vote carried the motion.

With the motion and its amendment adopted, the House officially summoned the CBN Governor and officials responsible for Remita revenue administration to appear before the Public Accounts Committee. The committee is tasked to investigate the alleged non-remittance of federal revenue and discrepancies from 2015 to 2022, and to ensure compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the CBN Act, and other financial regulations.