House of Reps issue arrest warrant on Olayemi Cardoso, Oluwatoyin Madein, 17 others

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has authorized the issuance of an arrest warrant for the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, and 17 others. This decision comes in response to their persistent refusal to appear before the committee to address inquiries regarding their operations.

During the committee’s session on Tuesday, Rep Fred Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) motioned for the adoption of the arrest warrant, citing the continuous absence of the invitees despite being summoned four times. Agbedi emphasized the necessity of taking this action to compel their attendance.

The Committee’s Chairman, Rep Micheal Irom (APC-Cross River), ruled that the Inspector General of Police should ensure the appearance of the CEOs before the committee on December 14 through a warrant of arrest. This decision will be executed following due diligence conducted by Speaker Rep Tajudeen Abbas.

The petitioner, Mr Fidelis Uzowanem, based the petition on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report of 2021. Uzowanem asserted that the examination of the report revealed a consolidation of fraud within the oil and gas industry, dating back to 2016. He further highlighted the potential funding of the proposed 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion from the recoverable amount identified in the NEITI report. The petitioner brought attention to alleged illegal transactions in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), involving payments to companies that did not produce crude.