President Bola Tinubu’s Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, has called on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) to demand the withdrawal and restatement of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) 2025 audited financial statements, citing serious concerns over their credibility.
He also urged the FRC to scrutinise the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to provide Nigerians with clarity on the controversial ₦210 trillion figure under discussion at the National Assembly.
Obazee made these remarks on Tuesday at the commissioning of the FRC’s new headquarters in Lagos, where he challenged the council’s leadership to examine key financial records that have generated significant public interest.
He specifically drew the FRC’s attention to documents relating to the NNPCL’s ₦210 trillion figure, urging the National Assembly to forward all relevant records to the council for review, or for the FRC to proactively request them if necessary.
“If you have not seen it, ordinarily the NNPCL, the National Assembly should send you those documents. They should send you those documents. If they don’t, please request them and review them so you can give Nigerians closure,” he said.
Obazee also raised issues about the CBN’s 2025 fully audited financial statements, urging the FRC to obtain both the summary and full accounts and subject them to detailed review.
“Please, if you have not seen it, look for it. Ask someone to bring you the summary and the full accounts because they urgently need to withdraw that financial statement and re-issue it,” he said, adding that he was prepared to discuss the issues in detail with the FRC’s current leadership.
Speaking at the commissioning, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu praised the new FRC headquarters by stating: “We expect this new headquarters to provide the platform for the FRC to improve its efficiency, deepen engagement with businesses and professional bodies, strengthen regulatory capacity, and respond more effectively to emerging challenges.”
The governor commended FRC Executive Secretary and CEO, Dr Rabiu Olowo, for his leadership.
The institutional journey of the FRC began with the establishment of the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) in 1982. The NASB was created to develop and issue accounting standards for Nigeria before evolving into the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria under the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act 2011.
The commissioning was attended by government officials, members of the National Assembly, regulators, accounting and financial reporting professionals, traditional rulers, business leaders and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s economic and corporate governance ecosystem.
With Obazee’s call for scrutiny of the CBN’s 2025 accounts, the commissioning also brought renewed attention to the FRC’s role in ensuring that the financial statements of institutions meet the required standards of transparency, credibility and accountability.
