The audit report of the investigation into the Central Bank of Nigeria would soon be made public, according to George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
On July 28, 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Jim Obazee, a former CEO of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, as the Special Investigator for the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The special investigator will immediately report to the President’s Office, the President instructed the special investigator to look into the CBN and other important government business entities.
The CBN investigation report, when made public, will, the SGF stated on Monday, show how bad governance led the nation to its current situation.
Akume made the disclosure while fielding questions at a press conference in Abuja on the 63rd Independence anniversary of Nigeria.
According to him, the report will enable Nigerians to know what really went wrong and how the country got to its present situation.
He said, “Most of these problems confronting us are due to bad governance. The present government has confronted and is confronting these challenges. When President Bola Tinubu came on board, he took a very sound decision at the CBN. That singular act led to a massive improvement in the capital market, as experts have told us, it is something that has never happened in the past 15 years.
“We have a new team at the CBN and a special investigator has been in the CBN for some time now and his result will soon be released and Nigerians will know what really went wrong and what brought us to where we are today.”
Tinubu had in a letter dated July 28, 2023, asked Obazee, to ensure the probe revealed government funds in the hands of private individuals.
The letter, which was addressed to the special investigator, read in part, “In accordance with the fundamental objective set forth in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), this administration is, today, continuing the fight against corruption by appointing you as a Special Investigator, to investigate the CBN and Related Entities. This appointment shall be with immediate effect and you are to report directly to my office.”
However, findings revealed on Monday that Obazee had submitted an interim report to the President’s office over a week ago.
Multiple officials said the preliminary report was submitted for necessary action by the President.
“The CBN Special Investigator submitted a preliminary report to the President’s Office over a week ago. The investigation still continues but the preliminary report is meant to give the President an idea of what has been discovered so far,” a top official privy to the development said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
It was learnt that the interim report would enable the president to take some key decisions that would help the country move forward.