Emefiele Took Naira Redesign Contract Abroad Against Buhari’s Directive, Says EFCC

Our Reporter

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Chinedu Eneanya, yesterday told an FTC High Court that former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disregarded the directive of former President Muhammadu Buhari to award the 2022 naira redesign to a local contractor.

Eneanya, a detective with the EFCC, who appeared as the prosecution’s seventh witness, was led in evidence by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).

The EFCC detective revealed that four former CBN Deputy Governor, Adesonubi Folasodun, Adamu Edward, Kingsley Obiora, and Aisha Ahmed, were invited for questioning and made confessions regarding their roles in the naira redesign scandal.

“The approval of the president in the memo was completely jettisoned,” Eneanya stated.

Emefiele is currently facing a four-count charge in connection with the unauthorised redesign of Nigeria’s N200, N500, and N1,000 currency notes.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused Emefiele of proceeding with the currency redesign project without obtaining the requisite approvals from both the President and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Board. This alleged oversight is said to have resulted in substantial financial losses for the nation.

During the trial, EFCC testified that the naira notes currently in circulation deviate significantly from the design originally approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari. According to EFCC, Buhari’s approved design incorporated advanced security features, including a QR code and specific color modifications.

However, Emefiele reportedly disregarded these specifications, opting instead for his own version of the design, which was executed under an unrealistic and impractical timeline.

The witness further disclosed that Emefiele allegedly defied a direct presidential directive by outsourcing the redesign and printing of the naira to De La Rue, a UK-based firm. This move directly contradicted Buhari’s explicit instructions that the entire process should be carried out domestically to bolster local capacity and ensure national security.

“For the design alone, the British firm was paid £205,000, over N111m at the exchange rate at the time,” Eneanya disclosed.

The witness emphasised that Emefiele’s actions resulted in substantial financial losses for the country, as funds were expended on a process that deviated from the presidential approval.