By Fatima Saka
The Senate Ad Hoc Committee investigating the N1.5 trillion Ways and Means borrowing has criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for withholding critical financial documents needed for the probe.
The committee, chaired by Senator Isah Jibril (Kogi East),on Tuesday in Abuja accused the CBN of stalling the investigation into the funds earmarked for infrastructure projects under the Ways and Means program.
According to Jibril, the money should have been released to the Federal Ministry of Works but was allegedly misappropriated.
“This is a major assignment that concerns all Nigerians. We want to know how these funds were utilized,” he said.
He further lamented that despite engaging consultants to liaise with the CBN, no progress had been made.
“The Nigerian public must know that this probe has been stalled by the CBN. They have denied us access to critical documents needed to complete our work,” he stated.
“Preliminary findings show major infractions, especially on the part of the CBN. But they have the opportunity to defend themselves—if they provide the documents.”
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The committee has now issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the CBN to release all required documents to its consultants.
“We have no choice but to set a deadline. The documents must be made available immediately,” Jibril added.
The Senate vowed to press on with the investigation, emphasizing that the matter affects national accountability and must not be ignored.
