Emefiele Printed ‘His Own Naira’, Ignored Buhari’s Approved Design – Ex-CBN Director

A former Director of Currency Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ahmed Umar, revealed that the bank’s immediate past governor, Godwin Emefiele, printed his own design of the naira.

The ex-CBN director revealed this during his testimony at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court in Maitama.

He mentioned that the design features approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari differed from the ones Emefiele instructed to be printed.

Umar said, “The design approved by the President had a QR code, which the currency in circulation does not. The positioning of the portrait was on the right side, that printed by the CBN was on the left and the number scheme approved by the President is different from what the CBN produced.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arraigned Emefiele on May 15 on a four-count charge before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the FCT High Court.

Emefiele, however, denied the charge and was granted bail in the amount of ₦300 million.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that President Bola Tinubu appointed Jim Obazee last July to investigate the activities of the CBN and other related entities under the leadership of Emefiele.

According to the report submitted to the president in December 2023, the investigation accused the former CBN governor of several wrongdoings, including keeping £543.5 million in fixed deposits in the UK without seeking the consent of the bank’s board of directors and investment committee and a “fraudulent cash withdrawal of $6.23 million.”

Emefiele was also said to have invested Nigeria’s money without authorisation in 593 foreign bank accounts in the UK, the US and China, manipulated the exchange rate and committed fraudulent acts in the CBN’s e-Naira project.

The report accused the ex-CBN governor of “stealing of public funds through government advances otherwise known as Ways and Means” to the tune of ₦17.37 trillion.