Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has firmly rejected the allegations levied against him by the special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu. Released from Kuje prison in Abuja on Saturday, Emefiele labeled the accusations as “false, misleading, and calculated to disparage my person.”
In a detailed two-page statement, Emefiele refuted the claims made by the investigator, Jim Obazee, stating that the allegations were intended to serve the “selfish interest of the private investigator.” Emefiele categorically denied involvement in the controversial Naira redesign without presidential approval, the alleged looting of $6.3 million from the CBN vault, and the opening of 593 different deposit accounts in foreign banks.
Addressing the Naira redesign issue, Emefiele clarified, “there was indeed a presidential approval,” handed over during the investigative process in the presence of officials and Obazee’s own team. He pointed out that former President Muhammadu Buhari had publicly affirmed authorizing the redesign.
Regarding the $6.23 million withdrawal, Emefiele challenged Obazee to publish the alleged documents, asserting, “I have no knowledge of such directive from the former president and the former SGF.” He insisted that during questioning in Kuje, he verbally and in writing conveyed his lack of awareness regarding the documents in question.
Emefiele also distanced himself from the 593 foreign accounts, asserting, “I am not involved in the opening of these accounts and do not have knowledge of their openings. The fixed deposits in those foreign accounts are definitely outside my knowledge.”
While acknowledging the court adjudication process, Emefiele expressed his need to counter some issues raised in the media, which he deemed “barefaced lies” intended to further an alleged agenda by the investigator.
