A global pan-Nigeria group, Nigerian Young Professionals Forum, NYPF, has petitioned the US Congress over alleged multiple scams at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the watch of Godwin Emefiele, the incumbent governor of the bank.
The group said the litany of scandals at CBN including forex scam rubbishes all the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to stamp out corruption from Africa’s most populous nation.
The petition which was addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Leader McCarthy and Leader Schumer was titled: Corruption, Looting In Central Bank Of Nigeria: A Call For A Special Congressional Hearing, Investigation, Sanctions On Godwin Emefiele And Others.
The petition which also copied the US State Department, Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, was signed by Mr. Jackson Ude, a Nigerian-American media specialist, activist, good governance advocate and recipient of the Peace Ambassador Award of the Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), Sri Lanka who is also the Coordinator of NYPF, U.S/Caribbean chapter.
The petitioners alleged that between 2015 and 2016, under Emefiele’s watch, CBN conspired with Nigeria’s oil corporation, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to illegally divert $24,263,008.56 meant to be shared to 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and the 774 local councils.
Referring to a leaked tape obtained by Saharareporters.com, one of Nigeria’s leading Investigative news websites, in which Emefiele and some officials of the CBN were caught discussing how to cover up the loss of over N500bn (an equivalent of $1.2billion) stolen from the CBN and diverted to a private investment that failed, the NYPF wondered why till date, no one, including Emefiele, has been held accountable.
The group also accused the CBN of allegedly awarding a contract for the expansion of its parking lot to Bulet International Limited, a company owned by Ismaila Isa Funtua, an ally and confidant of President Muhammadu Buhari at a whopping sum of N30 billion (the equivalent of $77.5million) in 2019; stressing that no parking lot extension contract costs that much in the United States. The NYPF alleged that the said contract violated Nigeria’s procurement laws.
The petitioners alleged that Emefiele has been running the CBN with top members of the Buhari cabal led by Isa Funtua, and the recently deceased Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, Mamman Daura, Lawan Daura, Babagana Kingibe, Nasir Danu and a few others who are all from the Northern part of Nigeria.
The group which is affiliated to global anti-corruption networks alleged that Isa Funtua and the cabal have been running a black-market forex cartel worth $800 million every week since the beginning of the Buhari administration in 2015.
“This continued until late 2017 when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo scaled it down to $500 million when the President was away for medicals,” the petition alleged.
The petitioners urged the US Congress to:
- Convene a Special Congressional Hearing on Corruption in Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari;
- Place Godwin Emefiele, Abubakar Malami, Nasir Danu, Babagana Kingibe, Samaila Isa Funtua, Abubakar Isa Funtua and all those linked with the corruption in CBN on the U.S watch-list;
- Invoke the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) with Nigeria and obtain banking and other financial records on the dealings involving Emefiele, Bulet International owned by Samaila Isa Funtua and Abubakar Isa Funtua;
- Invoke the Global Magnistky Act and place visa restrictions on Godwin Emefiele, Abubakar Malami, Ismaila Isa Funtua, Abubakar Isa Funtua, Mamman Daura, Lawan Daura, Babagana Kingibe and Nasir Danu, their families and others linked with the corruption in CBN.
The group said they had established all necessary contacts within the US Congress and are prepared to testify under oath in Congress and provide all necessary documents to aid the speedy investigations of all the claims, adding, we are “willing to use all legal means necessary in bringing an end to corruption in Nigeria to give her young population a new lease of life for a better future.”
