The Special Investigator on the Central Bank of Nigeria and Related Entities, Jim Obazee, has reportedly revealed that the recent naira redesign wasn’t expressly approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari. According to Obazee’s final report, the approval for the redesign came from Buhari’s aide, Sabiu Tunde ‘Yusuf,’ who is the former President’s nephew.
The report suggested that the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, in collaboration with Sabiu, implemented the naira redesign without the express approval of the board of the CBN. Emefiele and Sabiu could potentially face charges for the illegal issuance of currency under Section 19 of the CBN Act, along with 12 top directors of the CBN.
The investigator’s findings indicated that Buhari did not explicitly approve the naira redesign. Sabiu suggested the redesign to Emefiele in September 2022, and on October 6, 2022, Emefiele wrote to Buhari proposing the redesign of the N1000, N500, and N200 notes. Buhari’s approval was limited to printing the currency in Nigeria, and the redesign was only mentioned to the CBN board on December 15, 2022, after the contract had been awarded.
The investigation also revealed that N61.5 billion was earmarked for the printing of the new notes, with N31.79 billion already paid. As of August 9, 2023, N769 billion worth of the new notes were in circulation. The report also highlighted fraudulent use of N26.627 trillion in Ways and Means of the CBN, as well as misuse of the COVID-19 intervention fund. The CBN under Emefiele was accused of making debits to the Consolidated Revenue Fund Account and granting anticipatory approval for the payment of N250 billion to the Federal Government without formal requests and ratification.
