CBN Probe: Preliminary report indicts acting CBN Gov Shonubi, Emefiele, others
Nigerians will soon jump for joy as the committee probing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other Government Business Entities (GBEs) headed by the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, has traced about N8trillion of the funds looted from the vaults of the apex bank and the GBEs to various bank accounts operated by individuals and private business organisations.
The recovery of the located N8trillion is, however, expected to commence any moment from now.
This and other revelations, according to reliable sources, are contained in a preliminary report already prepared by the Special Investigator and his team.
But Obazee, it was learnt, is waiting for President Bola Tinubu to return from his foreign trips before submitting the report and then obtain the presidential approval to deposit the funds to be recovered into the Federation’s consolidated account or the recovery account, as he’s expected to get the President’s approval to open the account for depositing the money.
Tinubu is, however, expected to officially announce the N8trillion as the first recovery made by the Obazee-led team of investigators, while subsequent recoveries will be announced fortnightly or monthly.
About N400trillion looted from the CBN and GBEs is expected to be recovered by the Obazee-led team of investigators.
Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that the special investigator has begun to take steps to prevent a recurrence of the situation where the management of the apex bank presents fake or doctored financial audit reports to government in their bid to cover up such “monumental fraud” allegedly perpetrated under Emefiele’s watch.
Obazee, it was learnt, has therefore, recommended in his preliminary report to be submitted to Tinubu, the immediate withdrawal of the seven-year CBN audited annual financial reports released in September, following the discovery of some discrepancies and irregularities in the financial accounts.
CBN had in August released its financial reports for years 2016 to 2022 amid the ongoing probe of the apex bank by Tinubu’s Special Investigator.
But the audit reports are said to have been found out by the Special Investigator to contain inaccurate and false data.
HOW ACTING CBN GOV MASTERMINDED CONTROVERSIAL NAIRA REDESIGN POLICY
However, contrary to Nigerians’ belief that the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, formulated the Naira redesign policy, it has been discovered that his deputy in charge of operations, who is now the Acting Governor of the apex bank, Folashodun Shonubi, was the real mastermind of the policy.
Shonubi, it was learnt, came up with the idea of the Naira change in conjunction with Emefiele and the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdullahi Bawa as collaborators in his agenda to assist a particular opposition presidential candidate (names withheld), who he was working for, to win the 2023 general elections.
Impeccable sources added that the controversial currency redesign, which resulted in the scarcity of Naira, was the sole idea and handiwork of Shonubi, who was CBN Deputy Governor (Operations).
SHONUBI’S INTERNAL MEMO ON NAIRA REDESIGN
This claim was corroborated by an August 2022 internal memo Shonubi raised regarding the matter.
Shonubi in the memo titled, “Memo to the Committee of Governor for Currency Redesign,” based his reason for a redesign of the Naira on “wholesale hoarding of Naira bank notes by members of the public worsening shortage of fit banknotes in circulation, high and increasing cost borne by the bank as well as high counterfeit risk.”
Shonubi’s memo, it was learnt, prompted Emefiele to set up a taskforce for the Naira redesign with himself as the chairman while Shonubi and Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad, served as co-chairmen.
