A prosecution witness, Edward Adamu, on Wednesday testified before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele evaded required approvals from the Nigerian President and from the CBN Board for the redesign of naira notes by the end of 2022.
Adamu, a former deputy governor of the CBN, appeared as the fourth prosecution witness in the trial of Emefeie, prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of illegal naira printing.
Presented in testimony by the EFCC Prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the witness detailed how the naira redesign process was carried out without regard to the bank's standard procedures.
According to Adamu, the typical process involves the Director of Monetary Operations submitting a proposal, which is first reviewed by the Committee of Governors (COG) and then sent to the CBN Board for approval. Only after these steps is presidential approval sought.
In this case, Adamu said Emefiele bypassed both the Board and much of the formal process, calling a COG meeting in October 2022, where he presented what he claimed was already secured presidential approval for the redesign. .
“I found out in October 2022 when the governor informed us lieutenant governors that he had obtained express approval to redesign the currency. Then, on October 26, 2022, we were formally informed of the presidential approval of the redesign, and that is what happened in October; then there was a formal announcement of the redesign of the currency,” Adamu said in a statement by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale on Wednesday.
The witness added: “At the meeting, the governor showed us the president's approval, showing us the page where the president's approval is.
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“Subsequently, a meeting of the board of directors was held, where we were also informed about the presidential approval of the redesign of the currency.”
Adamu noted that the final designs of the naira banknotes, affecting the N200, N500 and N1000 denominations, differed from the original concepts that had been discussed, indicating that Emefiele had unilaterally made changes.
During cross-examination by the defense lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, a SAN, Mr Adamu was asked if it was common practice to obtain presidential approval before consulting the CBN Board.
He responded that during his tenure at CBN, such actions were not typical.
After cross-examination, trial judge Maryanne Anenih adjourned the proceedings until October 17.
Among other charges, the EFCC accused him of printing N684 million banknotes at a cost of N18.96 billion without the approval of the then President Muhammadu Buhari.
The EFCC claimed that between October 2022 and March 2023, Emefiele illegally approved the printing of currency (specifically N1,000, N500 and N200 denominations) without obtaining approvals required by law.
EFCC said the process cost the nation billions and violated Section 19 of the CBN Act 2007, which requires the consent of the Board and the President for currency changes.
Furthermore, the agency accused the former CBN governor of illegally approving the withdrawal of about N124.8 billion from the consolidated revenue fund.
Emefiele has faced multiple corruption charges in Lagos and Abuja since he was removed from office by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023.
Naira redesign saga
The unpopular naira redraw policy remains a highlight of the decline of then President Buhari's administration.
It caused a severe shortage of naira banknotes, causing headaches for many Nigerians in the first two months of 2023.
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Emefiele and Buhari remained steadfast in implementing the policy even as it caused widespread chaos and disruption for weeks amid preparations for the 2023 general elections. They touted the policy of stopping vote buying during the elections.
But even though the policy was in force, cases of vote buying were recorded during the February 25, 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections.
Buhari staunchly defended the policy to the point of ignoring an interim Supreme Court order suspending its implementation. On February 8, 2023, the Supreme Court ordered that both the old banknotes and their newly designed versions remain legal tender pending further hearings in the lawsuit. But in violation of the court order, Buhari, in a broadcast on February 16, restored the validity of the old 200 naira notes and insisted that the old 500 and 1,000 naira notes were no longer valid.
The case was finally closed when the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment on March 3, 2023, nullifying Mr. Buhari's directive withdrawing the old naira notes and extending their validity until March 31. The Supreme Court also declared that Buhari had disobeyed a court order, citing his violation of its earlier interim order suspending the implementation of the naira redraw policy.