Tunde Bakare
Edward Adamu, fourth Prosecution Witness (PW4) in the trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 told Justice Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, that Emefiele did not did have the approval of either former President Muhammadu Buhari or that of the CBN Board for the 2023 redesign of naira notes as required by the rules.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Adamu disclosed that the usual process for currency redesign begins with the Director of Currency Operations submitting a proposal to the Committee of Governors (COG). The COG then transmits the proposal to CBN Board for approval, with the final stage being the seeking of presidential endorsement.
Emefiele, he said, bypassed these procedures by simply calling for a COG meeting and presented what he claimed was a presidential approval and proceeded with the redesign, straightaway.
“I became aware of it in October 2022 when the governor informed us, the deputy governors, that he had gotten an express approval to redesign the currency. Then on the 26th October, 2022, we were formally informed of the presidential approval of the redesign, so that is what happened in October, then there was a formal announcement of the currency redesign. At the meeting, the governor showed us the approval of the president, by showing us the page where the approval of the president is. Subsequently, there was a board meeting of the board of directors, where we were also informed of the presidential approval of the currency redesign,” he said.
He further disclosed that the current designs of the notes fundamentally differ from what was originally approved, stating that Emefiele unilaterally made the changes. The redesign affected N200, N500, and N1000 notes.
When the defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo SAN sought to know if there had been instances where a presidential approval was gotten for an action before the CBN Board was informed, the witness stated that such was not the practice during his time at the Apex Bank.
Justice Anenih discharged the witness from the dock at the end of the cross-examination and adjourned the matter till October 17, 2024 for continuation of trial.