By Suleiman Umaru And Lateef Adegbite
Those who thinks that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state will probe the eight year-old Administration of Muhammadu Buhari would be disappointed. This is because the Nigerian President do not want to expose the inadequacies of the Administration and play into the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, that may use that as an opportunity to rubbish the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC. It was not surprising why the former Lagos state has decided to manage financial crisis met on ground on May 29, 2023 by to chart a new course for the government.
There is no saying the fact that there is nothing the former Lagos state governor is doing, particular, the arrest, detention and trial of Godwin Emiefele, the immediate pat governor of the Central Bank, CBN, who turned out to be the most trusted ally of the former Katsina state born Nigerian President that he took things for granted, by taking most decisions without Presidential approval.
The Nigerian President may have shocked Nigerians as he had thanked Jim Obazee, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, appointed as the Special Investigator of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and other related entities, on July 28, 2023 who never indicted Buhari, the former President in his report but Emefiele.
Tinubu, who had commended Obazee, the CBN and other related entities, Special Investigator which was very revealing was said to have commended the former CEO, of FRCN, ‘’for the dedication and professionalism he had exercised in handling the complexities of the critical national assignment’’, which many believe was very revealing.
Obazee and his team, who were said to have submitted the comprehensive report of their findings to the President on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, for implementation. The Special Investigator was aid to have uncovered instances where billions of naira wee purportedly stolen from the CBN, accounts , including a fraudulent cash withdrawal of $6.23 million , equivalent to N2.9 billion at the then official exchange rate of N461.00 to the US dollar.
The atrocities that was said to have been committed by Emefiele while still in office was so worrisome that the EFCC, had declared his Margret Emefifiele, his wife , Eric Odoh , Anita Omoile and Jonathan Omoile wanted for allegedly conspiring with the erstwhile CBN governor ‘’to convert huge sums of money belong to the government and committed felony to obtaining money by false pretenses and stealing . The trio of Margret, Anita and Jonathan were listed as indigenes of Delta, Emefiefiele, the former C apex Bank governor, home state while Odoh is said to be from Benue, home state of George Akume, Present Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
At the presentation of the Obazee’s report, on Easter Sunday, March 1, 202, Tinubu, who could not hide his feelings had declared that ‘’the investigation is formally closed’’, and directing all relevant enforcement and regulatory agencies already conducting a -up action to expedite action to bring the culprits to book.
Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, may have alluded to the Kayode Egbetokun, led Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Service, DSS, under the close watch of Yusuf Magaji Bichi and Ola Olukoyede led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, as the relevant enforcement and regulator yagencies which are doing a follow-up to the Obazee’s report.
The introduction of a fresh 26-count charges bordering on abuse of office and corruption against Emefiele, the Delta state born immediate past governor of the CBN speaks volume. The Special Investigator may have given the law enforcement and regulatory agencies room to further probe the former CBN governor currently on trial for allocating the country’s foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of the North American country of the United states , US, 2,136,391,37.33, without bids , which the EFCC had described as ‘’prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians’’.
Recall that Ngelale, the Presidential spokesperson, based on information available to him from the CBN, had accused Emefiele of depleting the country’s foreign reserve as he took most financial decisions without the approval of Buhari, the then Nigerian President. He was emphatic that expenses from the nation’s foreign reserve, reaching billions of US dollars, were not approved by the former President for him, meaning that he was running a parallel government. He noted that Buhari, may have allowed the former CBN, governor, who was in charge of the apex Bank‘s operations and also served as the Chairman of the Bank’s Board of Directors to hang himelf by giving the free hand to operate.
The Presidential Media Aide may have also been guided in his statement by snippets from the Obazee’s findings while looking at the books of the CBN, that was done by the former governor was largely without the approval and knowledge governor concerning the expenditure of billions of dollars from the foreign reserves without the approval and knowledge of Buhari. He may have had at the back of his mind that he will continue the say under the Tinubu’s Administration but got it wrong.
Unknown to him the former Lagos state governor had a dossier on him and was waiting for an opportunity to apply the sledge hammer on him. The opportunity came on July, 2023, barely two months in office, as he was suspended from office sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and planned reforms in the nation’s financial sector. A security source disclosed that the former CBN governor would have been arrested by DSS operatives during the Administration of President Buhari because of the many questions to answer but was put on hold till after the February 25, 2023, Presidential election. The first move by the DSS operatives to arrest him was in January 2023 over allegations of terrorism financing and economic crime but that was how far the agency could go.
On June 9, 2023, barely two weeks in office as President and Commander –In-Chief of the Nigerian, armed forces, Tinubu suspended Emefiele from office over allegations of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension. During his tenure, the naira was said to have experienced a significant decline at AEM and the Investors and Exports, I&E, window.
As a prelude to concluding the trial of the former CBN governor without further delay, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and EFCC Lawyer may have spoken the mind of Olukoyede, the EFCC, Executive Chairman when he reportedly said that the embattled apex Bank governor will be arraigned before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos High Court , Ikeja, on Monday, April 8, 2024. Channels Television had reported that the anti-graft agency had filed the case on the High Court on
The situation appears to have been different in the recent time as the naira has been appreciating against the US dollar at the official and parallel foreign exchange market in the recent time. The naira appreciation in both AFEM and Parallel foreign exchange market had been attributed by Financial analysts to the several foreign exchange policies currently being implemented by the CBN, to boost the country’s US dollar supply and enhance transparency in the FX market.
Appearing on Arise Television recently, Muda Yusuf, CEO, of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, , had linked the increase in raw material imports by Manufacturers to the appreciation of the naira due to the CBN, interventionist policies.
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative, IMPI, had said that the naira had bounced back against other world major currencies because of the cocktail o positive policies that had been produced by the CBN, in addressing he supply and demand sides of the country’s foreign exchange market.
