By Lateef Aegbite
Godwin Emefiele, immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, who was born and bred in Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre had expected to return to his country home in Agbor, Delta state, to live a quiet life after the hassle –bustling life of Lagos and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to direct the affairs of the CBN, between 2014 and July 2023, but got it wrong.
This is because of the landmines that had been set for him by Jim Obazee, a former Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, and who had had headed the Special Investigation Team, that had uncovered lots of financial illegalities around the office of the former CBN governor and other relevant government agencies. That had roped him in for trial in a Federal High Court in Abuja or Lagos.
Ever since, he was removed from office on July 3, 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state and arrested by Yusuf Majaji Birchi led Department of State Services, DSS, operatives, he has been shuttling between the DSS custody in Abuja, and the Abuja High Court, which AbdiHakeem Labi-Lawal, his Lawyer, had said he has never ’’missed his hearing dates to answer the allegations against him’’, describing him as’’ not being a flight risk’’ who should be granted bail.
Emefiele’s troubles may have started all over again with the submission of the Osazee, the Special Investigator’s report to the Presidency, on Sunday, April 1, 2024, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, under the close watch of Ola Olukoyede, had prepared 26 fresh charges against him and dragged him, including abuse of office at the Lagos High court which had ordered that he should be remanded in EFCC, custody and not the DSS custody.
Recall that the erstwhile CBN governor , who is currently being tried in a Lagos High Court based on the findings of Osazee, led Special Investigating team , around the governor’s office had discovered that from June , 2014 to June ,2023, that Emefiele had engaged in fraudulent cash withdrawal of $6.23 billion by allegedly forging a cheque from the Nigerian President and perpetrated a fraud in the redesign of the N200, N500 and N1000 bANK Notes.
The Delta state Banker was said to have also kept £543.4 million pounds in United Kingdom Banks without the approval and Knoledge of for President Muhammadu Buhari. He was said to have also allocated the sum of $2,136,391,737.33 , without bids to firms which the EFCC, Authorities had said is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.
The Senate ad-hoc Committee probing the CBN , the disbursement and usage of the N30 trillion Ways and Means loan to the government from the apex Bank , were said to have discovered illegalities in the loan approval process under Emefiele, which was said to be a bad advertisement to the Bank. The Delta state Banker was said to have signed and disbursed billions of naira in different tranches of the loan without following due process in 13 documents.
The anti-graft agency may have taken advantage of the submission of the Osazee’s report to take another look at the apex Bank 2004, circular to the MDBs, signed by Ibrahim Mu’azu, a –one time Director , Corporate Communications of the Bank which was said to have been drawn and released to the Banks on Monday, April 2, 2024.
Mu’azu, the then CBN Director of Communications had said that some institutions price their goods and services in foreign currencies rather than the naira, which is the country’s legal tender. He had alluded to the CBN Act of 2007, which had stated that ‘’currency Notes issued by the apex Bank shall be the legal tender in Nigeria for the payment of goods and services’’ and offenders shall be liable on conviction in Court ’’to a prescribed fine or six months imprisonment or both ’’.
The circular which was said to have been reproduced and signed a by one Adetona Adedeji, the apex Bank, Director, Banking Supervision Department and uploaded to the Bank’s website on Monday, April 2, 2024, may have given room to the anti-graft agency to expedite action to try the former CBN , governor, by taking his case to a Lagos High Court.
Recall that the CBN Authorities had directed all the MDBs, whose Customers use the forex as collateral for naira loans ‘’ to trim all such existing loans within 90 days, or attract ‘’ a 150% capital adequacy ratio computation as part of the bank risk’’.
The apex Bank had said that the only Bank Customers who could use foreign currency as collateral for loans are those who had collected ‘’Eurobonds issued by the Nigerian government or guarantees of foreign banks and standby Letters of Credit ,LC’’.
Eurobonds, according to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, HSBC, are bonds issued offshore by governments or corporate organizations denominated in a currency other than that of the issuer’s country. The Asian country of China Bank which had described Eurobonds as ‘’long-term debt instruments had said that they are ‘’typically denominated in US dollars’’.
Letters of Credit, LC, going by the definition of the International Trade Administration, are contractual commitments by the foreign buyer’s bank to pay once the exporter ships the goods and presents the required documentation to the exporter’s bank for proof. It noted that the LC, are designed’’ to protect both the exporter and importer involved in the international trade’’.
The CBN directive, according to financial analysts underscores the Bank’s commitment to regulating and monitoring banking activities to safeguard the interests of customers and maintain financial stability in the country’s banking sector and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
The Bank was said to have also urged the MDBs, to take immediate steps to ensure compliance by the customers with the new order and seek clarifications or assistance from the apex Bank, if need to resolve all dark areas.
The CBN Authorities may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when it stated that ‘’it is on a mission to ensure that there is adequate foreign exchange in the country’s Autonomous Foreign exchange market to strengthen the naira.
Note that in the last one week, the naira has gained sharply against the US, dollar, at both the official and parallel markets after suffering its second devaluation in less than one year in the month of January, 2024, from the government on the advice of Olayemi Michael Cardoso led CBN.The naira may have been strengthened after the CBN Authorities raised interest rates between February and March and shifted restrictions on foreign participations at fixed- income auctions.
Determined to further strengthen the naira to other world major currencies at the country’s FEM , the CBN , appears set to sell US, $16 million through the Bureau de’change , BDCs, operators in this week’s intervention and another foreign reserves , US $I.I billion in the next three weeks to encourage the Banks to wind down on the naira loans -backed by forex colaterals within the next 90 days that had been set by the regulatory Authority.
The policy, according to an insider had said is’’ to further stress test banks- Multinational business relations,, which had said may see the naira on the course of regaining N1000.00 to the one US dollar , if the current momentum of releasing more forex into the market is sustained.
