The court said Emefiele must, however, remain in the country. On his bail terms, he was restricted to the FCT.

Emefiele, through his lawyer, Mathew Bukka, had requested a variation of the terms.

The Counsel of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, did not object.

He told the court to ensure that Emefiele wrote an undertaking that he would remain in the country if his plea was granted.

The charge against the former governor of the CBN was also amended to 20 from 6.

The amended charges against Emefiele now include criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit felony.

The court had on December 24, 2023 granted Emefiele bail in sum of N300 million with two sureties in like sum.

His lawyer, Mathew Burkaa, said that Emefiele was released from the Kuje Correctional Centre after his lawyers perfected his bail conditions.

Emefiele was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a staff of the CBN, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.

While he was remanded in Kuje, Emefiele was mandated to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court and must remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). (ChannelsTV)

Startling revelations have emerged, shedding light on Emefiele’s actions in obtaining the funds, a news outlet reported.

It is alleged that on April 24, 2023, after the elections and in preparation for the May 29 inauguration, Emefiele borrowed $1 billion from Afrexim Bank.

Shockingly, within two days of receiving the money, $750 million was swiftly transferred to Aliko Dangote’s Dubai accounts using a Form A transaction.

These revelations have sent shockwaves throughout the nation, raising concerns about integrity, collusion, and potential abuse of power. It is claimed that the President-Elect was not made aware of this transaction.

The scale and method of the transaction are deeply troubling. Sources within the CBN suggest that Emefiele sold the dollars to Dangote at an exceptionally low rate of 445 Naira to the dollar.

On April 24, 2023, $1 billion was deposited into the CBN JP Morgan account from Afrexim Bank. Within two days, $750 million was transferred to Dangote’s Bluestar Dubai account using the “Form A” transaction method, bypassing the requirement of a Letter of Credit. Bluestar has had connections to Dangote since 2007.

While some CBN officials expressed concerns about these transactions, the revelations underscore the potential for money laundering and illicit activities within Nigeria’s financial system, casting a shadow on the CBN’s integrity during Emefiele’s tenure.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the President took decisive action by suspending Emefiele and initiating a thorough investigation.

The decision to suspend Governor Emefiele was made by President Bola Tinubu and was announced through a statement issued by Willie Bassey, the Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The suspension is a result of an ongoing investigation and a planned financial sector reform. As per the law, one of the deputy governors must complete Emefiele’s tenure, which is set to expire in May 2024.

While the central bank has four deputy governors, Shonubi was chosen over Aishah Ahmed, Edward Adamu, and Kingsley Obiora for the acting governor role.

Shonubi, who assumed the position of Operations Directorate on October 17, 2018, was born on March 7, 1962, and obtained his education at the University of Lagos. He earned a BSc in mechanical engineering from 1978 to 1983, followed by an MSc in the same field.

After working as a consultant engineer at Mek-ind Associates from 1984 to 1989, he transitioned to the field of finance and completed an MBA program.

Shonubi ventured into the IT industry, which greatly influenced his career. He held positions such as a marketing executive at Inlaks Computers Ltd from 1989 to 1990 and head of treasury operations at Citibank Nigeria Ltd in 1990.

Throughout his career, he held various roles, including supervising consultant at Agusto & Co. Ltd and deputy general manager of banking operations and IT at MBC International Ltd. He also served as vice president of operations and information technology at First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd and executive director of operations and information technology at Ecobank Nigeria Plc.

Shonubi’s experience also extends to serving as director of information technology and corporate services at Renaissance Securities Nigeria Ltd, as well as executive director of operations, technology, and services at Union Bank of Nigeria Ltd from 2009 to 2012.

Before his appointment to the CBN in October 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari, he held the position of Managing Director and CEO of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

With the absence of a new CBN governor or the unlikely recall of Emefiele, who was suspended by Tinubu on Friday night, Shonubi currently holds the crucial role of leading the monetary affairs of Africa’s largest economy.

Willie Bassey, the Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, released a statement on Friday night confirming the suspension. The decision is based on an ongoing investigation and planned reforms within the financial sector.

As per the statement, Emefiele has been instructed to hand over his responsibilities to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate) while the investigation and reforms take place.

The statement reads, “President Bola Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from office with immediate effect.

This is sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy. Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of the investigation and the reforms.

Emefiele shared this update during the refinery’s commissioning ceremony on Monday, highlighting the amount paid back by the Dangote Group.

“To date, the Dangote Group has significantly reduced its outstanding loans for this refinery project from $9 billion to $2.7 billion,” Emefiele revealed.

He further emphasized that this achievement reflects the Dangote Group’s commendable creditworthiness.

The Dangote refinery is recognized as Africa’s largest refinery and ranks among the top six globally.

According to a CBN statement, Emefiele gave the charge on Wednesday at the start of the 2023 African Central Bank Conference at the Global Leadership Center in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Speaking on current global dynamics and specific policy developments in Nigeria to address emerging shocks, he advised African central banks to learn from the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States of America by implementing regulations that will prevent any run on banks in their countries.

While sharing Nigeria’s experience in regulating banks, he noted that the threats posed to the financial system necessitated the release of new guidelines and regulations to tackle potential infringements and, in the process, protect depositors’ funds as well as promote greater transparency in the sector.

According to him, regulators must be alive to their responsibilities by ensuring that banks under their regulatory watch are financially healthy and do not suffer a similar fate as the Silicon Valley Bank, which, until its collapse recently, catered to many of the world’s most powerful tech investors.

Emefiele made the assurance during a meeting with Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

CBN would honor cash commitments to INEC needed for the logistics of operating elections stating the CBN.

“I stand here to confirm that as of today, all foreign exchange needed to import those items has been provided and those items have been imported. So, it’s all part of our commitment.

“Now this issue of paying logistics for people who are going to be transporting election materials to wards, certainly I give it to you that because we regarded the INEC project as an urgent national assignment, it cannot fail.

“The CBN will not allow itself either to be used or to be seen as an agent that frustrated positive outcome of the election. So I give you the commitment that if in this case, after making your electronic payment you require some money to pay transporters, in this case, cash, I give to you that we will make it available.”

Emefiele stated that the CBN has assisted INEC in the storage of election materials and has also provided FX with to purchase of election equipment.

“Previously, we were involved in the storage of INEC election materials, as well as his involvement in using our armored bullion vans to transport election materials. We are pleased that we have not disappointed you during the course of this relationship, which is why you have returned this time.

“Aside from the issue of election material storage and transportation from CBN locations to your own specific or designated locations, I know that I visited your office just a few months ago.

“You raised the issue of how foreign exchange can be procured for you to import Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other forms of election material that need to be imported and I gave you my word that foreign exchange will be provided for that purpose.”

It has subsequently recovered N1.9 trillion in currency stored outside the banking system as a result of its Naira note redesign and cash swap strategy.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, announced this on Sunday, January 29, 2023, as part of his briefing following a meeting with President Buhari.

Emefiele stated that the recovery initiative had a 75% success rate out of the N2.7 trillion held outside the banking system. “Using the Agen Naira Trade program as well as the CBN Senior Staff nationwide sensitization team activity, Nigerians in rural regions, villages, and the elderly and vulnerable have had the opportunity to swap their old notes,” he said.

The top bank issued new naira notes in denominations of N200, N500, and N1,000 to combat counterfeiting, improve the impact of monetary policy instruments on inflation, and mop up surplus liquidity.

Emefiele said: “Available data at the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown that in 2015, currency in circulation was only N1.4 trillion.”

“As of October 2022, currency in circulation had risen to N3.23 trillion; out of which only N500 billion was within the banking industry and N2.7 trillion was held permanently in people’s homes.”

“Ordinarily, when the CBN releases currency into circulation, it is meant to be used and after effluxion of time, it returns to the CBN thereby keeping the volume of currency in circulation under the firm control of the CBN.”

“So far and since the commencement of this program, we have collected about N1.9 trillion; leaving us with about N900 billion (N500 billion + N1.9 billion),” he said.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this on Wednesday during a special press briefing in Abuja.

He advised Nigerians to take old notes to banks to enable them withdraw the new banknotes once circulation begins.

Speaking on the motivation for the change, the CBN governor explained that the decision was reached due to persisting concerns with the management of the current series of banknotes, and currency in circulation — particularly those outside the banking system in Nigeria.

He said in recent times, currency management has faced several daunting challenges that have continued to grow in scale and sophistication with attendant and unintended consequences for the integrity of both the CBN and the country.

According to Emefiele, these challenges primarily include: significant hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80 percent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks; worsening shortage of clean and fit banknotes with attendant negative perception of the CBN and increased risk to financial stability; and increasing ease and risk of counterfeiting evidenced by several security reports.

He added that recent development in photographic technology and advancements in printing devices have made counterfeiting relatively easier.