The embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele has reacted to the purported report by Jim Obazee accusing him and other CBN officials of multiple misconducts during his tenure as the apex bank chief.
Emefiele, who recently was granted bail from Kuje prison, said he was not aware of any directive from former president Muhammad Buhari for the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN vault, as the report claimed.
According to the former CBN chief, he was questioned on the matter during an interrogation session with the investigator, Jim Obazee, and he told him plainly that he did not have any knowledge of such a directive.
Challenging Obazee to present the written and oral documents of the interrogation, Emefiele stated that all the publications around the report were false.
- “After my release on bail from the correctional centre, Kuje, my attention was drawn to publications released by the Punch Newspaper and Premium Times online news platforms.
- “The sources of the information published by both media houses were credited to a certain report prepared by a Mr. Jim Obazee, who was appointed by the President as a private investigator. I have gone through the publications, and I say boldly that the contents of the said publications are false, misleading and calculated to disparage my person, injure my character and to serve the selfish interest of the private investigator.
- “The report also claimed that the sum of $6.23 million was withdrawn from the CBN vault based on a false presidential directive bearing the signature of the former president Muhammadu Buhari GCFR and that of the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha.
- “About two weeks ago, Jim Obazee in company of a certain Deputy Commissioner of Police from Force CID came to Kuje to ask me questions in respect of the said document in the presence of my lawyers. I stated verbally and in writing that I had no knowledge of such a directive from the former president and the former SGF. In fact, I told them that that was the first time I would be seeing the documents.
- “On this, I challenge Jim Obazee to publish the said documents and also the statements that I made to them,” he said.
Buhari Approves Naira Redesign Policy
Responding to the accusation that former President Muhammad Buhari never approved the naira redesign policy, Emefiele stated that the accusation is equally false.
He added that the president not only approved of the policy but also on several occasions gave his public endorsement.
He said,
- “It was reported that contrary to the provision of the CBN Act 2007, there was no presidential approval for the Naira redesign. I wish to state unequivocally that there was indeed a presidential approval, and the said approval was handed over to the same Jim Obazee during the process of his investigation in the presence of senior CBN officials and his investigative team.
- “Moreover, the former President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR has stated on a number of occasions that he authorised and approved the Naira redesign.
- “I am therefore at a loss as to why Mr. Jim Obazee will mislead Nigerians that there was no presidential approval.”
593 foreign Accounts owned by Emefiele
Addressing the accusation of the 593 foreign accounts allegedly owned by the former CBN governor, Emefiele said the fixed deposits of those banks are outside his knowledge.
- “The fixed deposits in those foreign accounts are definitely outside my knowledge. However, let me state clearly, that the relevant departments of the CBN have the authority to carry out such activities in line with their lawful mandate within the CBN. I, therefore, join well-meaning Nigerians who have spoken on this matter and have demanded a thorough and transparent investigation of all these alleged frauds.
- “Meanwhile, I have instructed my lawyers to immediately commence the legal process to clear my name from the defamatory statements contained in the report and by extension the publications,” he added.
What you should know
- A leaked report by the Special Investigation on the Central Bank of Nigeria suggests that financial and legal irregularities occurred under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele, raising questions about the operations of the CBN.
- The report titled REPORT OF THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR ON CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN) AND RELATED ENTITIES (Chargeable offences) has been circulating online.
- The allegations in this report against CBN officials, including the former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, who is presently facing EFCC charges of fraud, cannot be independently verified by Nairametrics. Accusations also extend to deputy governors who served during Emefiele’s tenure..
- The report further alleged that Mustapha, along with the embattled former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, authorised the removal of the cash from the bank’s vault under the guise of funding foreign election observer missions.
- The Investigator’s report, as quoted by the publication, claimed CCTV footage captured how the money was moved out of the apex bank.
That’s why the dude was locked up for months by the Secret Police – so that he would not be able to defend himself while the vengeful President (who publicly complained that the currency redesigned policy was specifically targeted at preventing his election) and his acolytes painted the dude evil in order to hang him. The Basics of being a Banana Republic 101!