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Since Friday, June 10, when President Bola Tinubu announced the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, he has caught a niche for himself in the public glare as a man who has an axe to grind with the state. And, unless he is discharged and acquitted by the law, analysts are unanimous in their thoughts that this might signal an anticlimax for a former ‘key actor’ in the running of the nation’s economy.
Emefiele was CBN governor under Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari (both former presidents), and by extension, he served briefly under President Bola Tinubu, all between June 4, 2014 and June 9, 2023.
Curiously, the former Apex Bank’s Czar was arrested and charged to court by the Department of State Services on grounds of illegal firearm possession and possession of 123 live ammunition, albeit drawing criticism from activists and civil society groups having seen charges against him as frivolous and untenable.
A report stated that earlier in the year, the DSS attempted to arrest Emefiele, but they were prevented from doing so by soldiers who were securing both his residence and office. However, the DSS said that it intensified its investigations in hottest and charged Emefiele in court on allegations of terrorism financing and fraud. Some documents were said to have been found pointing to the fact that Emefiele had questions to answer regarding the funding of ‘unknown gunmen’ inciting trouble in the South-East zone.
While the dust has yet to settle on the matter which opinionists cast doubts on, the allegation linking Emefiele to the sharing of billions of Naira diverted from CBN surfaced like a puff of dark smoke from the chimney of a mega factory. Investigators, also fingered the ex-president’s family and associates, alleged that the money was used to buy shares in three first-generation banks.
Those following the development have said that the Pandora’s box, burst open on the activities of the CBN governor and his alleged allies, continued to shame the country.
Investigators indicated that like others who were found to have looted public funds, their modus operandi is to launder the money through contractors. EFCC however uncovered N70b fraudulently starched by the former Central Bank Governor and others through multiple foreign exchange rates jolted the public.
The said amount was reportedly fraudulently realized as a foreign exchange differential by the ex-CBN chief in connivance with others.
President Tinubu, who suspended Emefiele from office, was quoted to have said that Nigeria’s financial system was rotten. The president specifically said that the country’s financial system in the hands of Godwin Emefiele was rotten days following his suspension, a successor in the person of Olayemi Michael Cardoso, a Nigerian banker, chartered stockbroker, and former Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos State was appointed. Consequently, Emefiele was arrested and flown from Lagos to Abuja for interrogations on issues bordering on corruption and abuse of office.
Willie Bassey, the Director of Information for George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, confirmed that Emefiele’s suspension was a result of the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy, said that the suspension was with immediate effect. “Mr Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), pending the conclusion of the station and the reforms,” he said.
An economist, who said that Emefiele remains innocent until proven otherwise by the court, explained that the allegation against Emefiele was that of forex differential fraud as it was claimed that he sold forex to persons at the official rate on paper bearing in mind, however that some persons would sell same at the black market rate. When sold, it was alleged that the difference would be paid into the account of Emefiele’s ally.
A report quoted a source as saying that “About N70billion has been traced to the account in the course of the investigation.” Another economist, who preferred anonymity, speaking with our reporter, observed that heads had been rolling since the suspension of Emefiele was announced. For instance, the deputy governors of the CBN had been sent packing. As well, the Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, was indefinitely suspended from office.
A top government official (preferred anonymity), describing the issue as ‘a stinking can of worms,’ said that the last had not been seen or heard of the Emefiele-Gate.
According to him, more heads would still roll as investigations progress and I know, additional facts would emerge as the situation progresses and those who have questions to answer would not be spared. So, I can say that end has not come to it and truth, more truth, would be blown open.”
Although lawyers refused to pass comments on the issue on the condition that the matter is still in court, they said that if found guilty, the former CBN governor and the accomplices would be given a deserving judgment at full trial and also ensure that the guilty does not go unpunished.
Recall that on November 23, 2022, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and Emefiele unveiled the new N200, N500, and N1,000 notes which were to make the old notes cease to be legal tender from January 31, 2023. The policy brought hardship to Nigerians with the scarcity of the naira notes leading to a cash crisis that featured long queues in banks and at the ATMs.
Emefiele earlier discountenanced a Supreme Court ruling on the deadline for the old notes. As the nation cringed in agony of unfavorable economic policies, Emefiele was alleged by the DSS to have funded a notorious and deadly group in the South East.
Claims that were also adjudged as invalid were also peddled against the former Apex Bank’s Czar. One of them was that the DSS found packs of dollar notes in Emefiele’s house. A viral video attributing the incident to Emefiele and it was said to have emanated from Sudan.
Many people hold the notion that corruption has permeated every sector of the country saying that what we see in public office holders is a picture of the reality of the tendency of the average Nigerian. It is believed that corruption reached its peak during the ex President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. An official audit found that the state-owned oil company withheld over $25 billion from the public purse between 2011 and 2015. Meanwhile, cartels involving government officials, militants, and, oil employees reportedly stole tens of thousands of barrels of crude each day.
Although oil prices were high for most ofthan’s tenure, the savings account was drained. Money that was supposed to arm soldiers against Boko Haram insurgents was reported to have been squandered. This explains why former Vice-President Osinbajo estimated that the previous regime diverted $15 billion through dodgy arms contracts.
Whereas the former President Mohammadu Buhari administration was adjudged to have started on a sound footing regarding anti-corruption with the dozens of public officials and their cronies arrested by the EFCC, the regime was said to have consequently regressed on the fight. The most famous of Buhari administration’s fight against graft was the case of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, charged with signing billions worth of fake contracts for helicopters, airplanes, and ammunition.
