Whistleblowers Finger CBN’s Gov, Emefiele, Others In ‘Missing’ $2.5b TSA Fund

The George Uboh Whistleblowers Network ( GUWN) has accused Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of supervising the alleged ‘disappearance’ of $2.5 billion from federal government coffers.

GUWN chairman, Dr. George Uboh who made the allegations during a press conference held in Abuja on Monday, called on Nigerians on the homeland and in the Diaspora to ask Emefiele to account for and return $2.5 Billion USD to Treasury Single Account in line with President Buhari’s TSA policy rolled out in 2015, and security agencies to arrest Emefiele within 72 hrs.

Uboh alleged that the said money reportedly was stolen or misappropriated in collusion with officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as other disclosed officials of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Emefiele, CBN or NNPC were yet to respond to the allegations as raised in various letters written by the Whistleblowers as of Thursday when the story was filed by BIGPEN ONLINE.

We reproduced below the press conference text and documents:

PRESS RELEASE BY DR. GEORGE UBOH ON THE $2.5 BILLION USD MISSING UNDER GODWIN EMEFIELE’S WATCH AS CBN GOVERNOR

Calling on Nigerians on the homeland and in the Diaspora to ask Emefiele to account for and return $2.5 Billion USD to Treasury Single Account in line with President Buhari’s TSA policy rolled out in 2015, and security agencies to arrest Emefiele within 72 hrs:

On Wednesday, April 3, 2019, I, Dr. George Uboh, the undersigned, in my capacity as Chairman George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (hereinafter GUWN), wrote Godwin Emefiele a letter with reference no. GUWN/CBNEMEFIELE/030419/01, captioned: “REQUEST TO REMIT OVER $2,564,000,000 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDS MISSING UNDER YOUR WATCH TO TSA”   

In the above referenced and captioned letter supported with over 100 pages of documents, I posited:

“We are a Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organization interested in the way and manner Federal Government funds are being expended at MDAs pursuant to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, and in the interest of the public and whistleblowers within and beyond the CBN who have furnished us information germane to the CBN. Below please find a synopsis of funds missing under your watch supported with 3 attachments:

That in 2017 alone, the CBN under your watch under-declared and under-remitted $760,000,000:00 USD exchange gains which accrued from BDCs to Federation account through Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Awka. Please see attached;
That the CBN under your watch conspired with NNPC to divert $24,263,008.56 USD in 2015 expected to be shared through FAAC in January 2016 to the three tiers of government; and,
That the CBN under your watch in collusion with NNPC denied the three tiers of government revenue from crude oil and gas from May 2015 to June 2016 (14 months), but diverted over $1.78 billion USD through fake accounts. Please see attached.

The aggregate of the above funds missing under your watch in a fraudulent manner is over $2,564,000,000 USD.” I asked Emefiele to remit the funds to TSA in 7 days.

Due to Emefiele’s refusal to deny or respond to the allegations, on Monday, May 6, 2019, I felt compelled to grant a press conference to TV, Print, Radio and online media houses during which time the supporting 100-page documents/exhibits were shown to the media houses, while a 7-page synopsis of the above trio of alleged fraudulent charges were given to the media houses. Again, since the May 6, 2019 press conference, Emefiele has kept mute on my allegations that $2.5 Billion USD was missing under his watch thus Emefiele has acquiesced or conceded to my allegations. In the face of the foregoing, I call on all Nigerians on the homeland and in the Diaspora whose funds are kept in trust at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to jointly and severally ask Emefiele to account for the $2.5 Billion USD at bar and compel him to return the $2.5 Billion USD to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in line with President Buhar’s TSA policy rolled out in late 2015.

Any Nigerian anywhere in the world who reads the entirety of this press release, sights the caption of this press release or hears of this press release through people who have read this press release and refuses to call on Emefiele to account for and/or return the $2.5 Billion USD to TSA is part of this hydra headed monster called corruption plaguing our dear country Nigeria. A man holding the hallowed and revered position of CBN governor who should enforce the President’s TSA policy, who should strive to increase the funds that go into FAAC (shared by the three tiers of government monthly), is the same person diverting TSA/FAAC-bound funds. With such leaders and office holders in Nigeria, do we conclude that Nigeria is indeed cursed with bad leaders or cursed with the masses who cannot and have not been able to drag looters through the mud to account for looted funds. I call on all security agencies in Nigeria to, in a joint effort, arrest Emefiele within 72 hrs. My fellow Nigerians, while I await your swift reaction to the foregoing shameful act by Emefiele which smacks of betrayal of oath of office, I remain,

Yours in whistleblowing services,

Dr. George Uboh
Chairman
George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN)
WhatsApp No. +234 809 640 0000
E-Mail: georgeuboh@yahoo.co.uk
@DrGeorgeUboh