An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),Chinedu Eneanya has testified in court that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, disregarded President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to award the 2022 naira redesign contract to a local contractor
Eneanya, who is the seventh prosecution witness, revealed that four former CBN Deputy Governors were invited for questioning and gave their statements regarding their roles in the naira redesign process.
He stated, “The approval of the president in the memo was completely jettisoned.”
The four CBN deputy governors mentioned were: Deputy Governor Adesonubi Folasodun, Adamu Edward, Kingsley Obiora and Aisha Ahmed.
Ex CBN governor, Emefiele is facing a four-count charge related to the unauthorized redesign of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes. The EFCC alleges that he executed the redesign without proper approval from both the President and the CBN Board, resulting in significant financial losses.
According to Eneanya, the naira notes currently in circulation were not the ones approved by Buhari. The approved design included security features such as a QR code and color modifications, which Emefiele allegedly ignored in favor of his own version.
Eneanya further testified that Emefiele violated a direct presidential directive by outsourcing the naira redesign and printing to a UK-based firm, De La Rue, despite Buhari’s instructions to handle the process locally. He disclosed that the British firm was paid £205,000, equivalent to over N111 million at the exchange rate at the time.
During cross-examination, Emefiele’s counsel objected to Eneanya’s assertion that the former CBN governor “disobeyed” Buhari. However, the presiding judge overruled the objection, allowing Eneanya to continue his testimony.
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