FACT CHECK: Did CBN Deputy Governor, Emem Usoro, Conceal California Property in Asset Declaration?
FACT CHECK: Did CBN Deputy Governor, Emem Usoro, Conceal California Property in Asset Declaration?
CLAIM: A report by SecretsReporters, circulated via Phoenix Browser on June 16, 2026, alleges that Emem Nnana Usoro, CBN Deputy Governor (Operations), secretly owns a luxury condominium at 1426 N Laurel Ave, Apt 107, West Hollywood, California, valued at about $1,047,500, and deliberately failed to declare it during her 2023 asset declaration.
BACKGROUND: The publication claims Usoro purchased the property in 2009 for $570,000, has owned it for 16 years, and “blatantly failed” to declare it upon her appointment and Senate confirmation in September 2023. It further alleges that this omission violates Sections 1 and 8 of the Bank Employees, Etc. (Declaration of Assets) Act, which prescribes penalties including imprisonment and forfeiture.
TimesNG reviewed the claims, examined public records, analysed relevant laws, and obtained official documentation from the relevant custodian.
VERIFICATION:
- Property Existence
TimesNG Fact Check searched available public property records and real-estate databases for 1426 N Laurel Ave, Apt 107, West Hollywood, CA 90046.and found that the unit exists as a condominium/townhouse unit within a 19-unit building constructed in 2003. Publicly available listings identified the address with a Los Angeles County Assessor Parcel Number (APN): 5554-003-023, and the property has been listed for rent multiple times in recent years. TimesNG further confirmed the location via Google earth aligned with images of the visuals obtained online.
However, TimesNG could not locate a reliable public source identifying the current owner of Unit 107, as most freely accessible sources such as Zillow, Redfin, and HotPads provide property details but do not disclose the owner’s name for a given unit.
- Asset Declaration
TimesNG obtained a certified copy of Usoro’s CCB asset declaration form, filed on 25 September 2023. The form clearly lists the West Hollywood property among her declared assets.
Notably, even the SecretsReporters article acknowledges that Usoro’s representative confirmed the property was declared to the CCB—yet the publication proceeded with its allegation.
- Legal Framework
The report conflates two separate legal regimes:
– CCB Asset Declaration (Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act) — applies to public officers, including CBN Deputy Governors.
– Bank Employees, Etc. (Declaration of Assets) Act — applies to banking institution employees.
Upon her appointment as CBN Deputy Governor, Usoro became a statutory public officer, and her primary obligation is to file with the CCB, which she did before Senate confirmation on 26 September 2023.
The SecretsReporters story provides no evidence that her CCB declaration was incomplete or false.
Prior Public Service Appointment
Before her nomination by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and confirmation by the Senate in 2023 as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Emem Nnana Usoro served as an Executive Director at United Bank for Africa (UBA), where she spent 13 years in senior leadership roles overseeing key operations, strategic business groups, and major regional markets. She previously held regional executive positions at Bank PHB.
Usoro holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Uyo and an MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University. She is an alumna of Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
CONCLUSION:
Therefore, the allegation that Emem Nnana Usoro concealed ownership of a California condominium (property) is misleading. Certified documents from the Code of Conduct Bureau confirm that she declared the property within the legally required timeframe.
There is no evidence supporting the claim of deliberate concealment.
VERDICT: MISLEADING
By TimesNG