Abuja, Nigeria – Ahmed Bello Umar, former Director of Currency Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), testified on Tuesday that he had never seen the minutes of the CBN management meeting on the naira redesign. Umar signed the memorandum for the redesign in 2022 but stated that the minutes were only circulated among the Committee of Governors (CoG).
Umar’s testimony is part of the trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who faces charges of redesigning the naira without proper approval. Emefiele, arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 15, 2024, denied the charges and was granted bail.
During the trial, Umar, the first prosecution witness, recounted how the CBN management directed his department to prepare a memo on the naira redesign in August 2022. He presented this memo to the CoG, chaired by the CBN governor and including four deputy governors. Umar participated in the October 26, 2022, Zoom meeting to present the memo but left afterwards.
Umar explained that after the meeting, the Corporate Affairs Department conveyed anticipatory approval of the CoG pending ratification by the Board of Directors (BoD), which is the CBN’s highest management body. The BoD, composed of 12 members, considered the memo on December 15, 2022.
The procedure for issuing naira notes, as described by Umar, requires BoD’s recommendation to the president for approval of the currency’s design. Upon presidential approval, production begins.
The EFCC’s four-count charge against Emefiele includes approving the printing of various quantities of new naira notes without the necessary approvals from the CBN Board and the president. Specifically, Emefiele is accused of:
- Approving the printing of 375,520,000 notes at a cost of N11 billion.
- Approving the printing of 172 million coloured swapped N500 notes for N4.4 billion.
- Approving the printing of 137,070 pieces of coloured N200 notes for N3.4 billion.
- Withdrawing N124,860,227 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly.
The trial continues with further evidence scheduled for Wednesday.
