A former acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Folashodun Shonubi, testified in court on Wednesday, claiming that the naira notes released during the 2022 redesign exercise differed from what ex-President Muhammadu Buhari had approved.
Shonubi, who served as the Deputy Governor of Operations before becoming acting CBN Governor, made this revelation during the trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
While responding to questions from Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Shonubi stated that politics and intrigues were involved in the currency redesign ahead of the 2023 elections.
“The currency redesign of 2022 was the only one I was part of. When we had meetings with the defendant (Emefiele), he said there were politics and intrigues around the whole exercise,” Shonubi testified.
Though Shonubi did not elaborate on the details of the political influences, he confirmed that Emefiele presented a document with the President’s signature approving the redesign.
However, he stressed that the notes produced were not in line with what Buhari had sanctioned. “The CBN, under Emefiele, produced something different from what former President Muhammadu Buhari approved,” he added.
Shonubi also disclosed that the CBN’s standard procedures for currency redesign were not followed. Normally, the Currency Management Department would propose the redesign, which would then be approved by the Committee of Governors (COG) and the CBN Board before being forwarded to the President. However, in 2022, this process was bypassed, with Emefiele singlehandedly preparing the memo sent to Buhari.
Shonubi revealed further that a recommendation for redesign had been made in early 2021 but was shelved on Emefiele’s orders. In mid-October 2022, the Deputy Governors were informed that presidential approval had been obtained. “He showed us the memo, Mr. President’s signature, and the instructions on the last page,” Shonubi explained.
The witness also mentioned that he had been invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for questioning regarding the redesign but was never confronted directly with Emefiele.
The court has adjourned the case until October 9 for further hearings.
