25th December, 2023
Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has called for a thorough and transparent investigation of all the alleged frauds uncovered in the apex bank by Mr Jim Obazee, the special investigator appointed to probe the apex bank by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Emefiele made the demand while denying allegations levelled against him in the alleged reports of the Special Investigator as published in the media.
The embattled ex-CBN Governor denied some of the key claims in the report, describing them as false, misleading and calculated to disparage his person.
For one, the former CBN governor denied the claim that former President Muhammadu Buhari did not approve the Naira redesign policy as alleged in the report of Obazee.
Emefiele alleged that the Special Investigator made the claim even though he submitted the approval to him during his investigation.
The former CBN Governor noted that former President Muhammadu Buhari had also stated on several occasions that he approved the naira redesign policy.
“I wish to state unequivocally that there was indeed presidential approval and the said approval was handed over to the same Jim Obazee during his investigation in the presence of senior CBN officials and his investigative team.
“Moreover, the former President Muhammadu Buhari has stated on several 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,” he stated.
Emefiele also dismissed claim by the special investigator that the sum of $6.23 million was withdrawn from the CBN vault based on a false presidential directive bearing the signature of the former President Buhari and that of the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, is false.
He said he had denied the claim when the Special Investigator confronted him about it when he was being detained at the Kuje prison.
Emefiele said, “About two weeks ago, Jim Obazee, in the company of a particular deputy commissioner of police from Force CID, came to Kuje to ask me questions regarding the said document in the presence of my lawyers. I stated verbally and in writing that I did not know of such a directive from the former president and SGF.
“I told them that, that was the first time I would see the documents. On this, I challenge Jim Obazee to publish the said documents and the statements I made to them,” the former CBN boss demanded.
He also denied the claim that the CBN operated 593 accounts in different parts of the world under his leadership.
He said, “I state categorically that I am not involved in the opening of these accounts, and I do not have knowledge of their opening. 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.
Emefiele therefore accused Obazee of producing a report aimed at injuring his character, while threatening to commence legal action to clear his name from the defamatory statements contained in the report and several publications made from the report by some mainstream and online news platforms.